Two Headed Scorpion
by BabsLevy
Summary: <html><head></head>Rylie and Ryder Cooper are twins, not only that, they are genius', in their own ways that is. After being put under close surveillance by the government, Agent Gallo is requested to recruit them for a special mission. So, Agent Gallo sends Walter and his team to recruit the twins, simple enough...until a bounty hunter arrives...also interested in the prodigal twins.</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Hello fans of Scorpion! I hope you enjoy the first chapter to my fanfic! There is more to come and I hope you like it, as well as be patient when it comes to updates. Also, this********become a crossover with Avengers...eventually...not now, but eventually, like, far into the future. Just a fair warning****:P**

"Ok, team, Ryder, Ellis, T, and Bart, you guys are on the front line, you charge as soon as you hear the bang. Rylie and Opie, you two are our snipers, can you handle that?"

Rylie rolled her eyes and glanced at Opie before returning her gaze to Norman. "Do you really need to ask?"

Norman grinned as Rylie adjusted her M16 on her shoulder and turned back to the team.

"Alright, we ready to kick some ass?!" Norman cheered. He thrusted his fist in the air, punching the darkness, and the flashing colorful lights reflected off his glasses.

Ryder clasped Norman's shoulder with his hand not holding his own M16.

"Norman, pal, you do know this is just laser tag, right?" Ryder chuckled. Rylie and Opie giggled in amusement as Norman frowned at Ryder.

"Yea, but we've already won three games in a row! We beat those giant football players in three minutes! That's a new record." Norman gushed excitedly. The group glanced at one another, judging Norman on how all too excited he was about laser tag. It wasn't really a coincidence that their team was winning. Ryder and Rylie sent each other guilty looks as they thought the same thing.

While the rest of their team members weren't paying attention, Ryder re-programmed his and Rylie's laser guns to take two lives at a time instead of just one. They wanted the shooting to be more realistic.

"Let's keep this good luck coming, right?" T laughed and stuck his arm out. "On three?"

They all nodded in agreement as they stuck their hands in the circle.

"One...two…three! CHILDREN OF THE CORN!"

The team dispersed into the darkness and field filled with blow up structures. Rylie and Opie took the positions they hid in the first couple of games and armed their weapons. The front lines took their positions closer to the opposing team and waited for the music to start.

BANG!

The music blasted through the small arena, nearly blocking out the battle cries of the Team Children of the Corn as they charged toward the other team. Rylie laughed at Norman shouting commands and none of their teammates listened. She enjoyed the short-lived adrenaline rush she received just thinking about taking down the opposing team. Fighting was such a thrill to her.

"Rylie!"

Rylie looked over her shoulder toward the vague shadow of Opie's head. The glow of her vest and gun shined over the blow up block and she could see Opie gesturing to the sidelines.

Half of their team was out, so the snipers were up. She took a quick look over at the opposing teams side and only two of their members were out. Rylie poked her head out and raised her weapon. She had twelve shots and the reload button was right next to the trigger. She was ready.

Rylie waited for the precise moment her target was going to pop out and shot with rapid fire. Opie did the same and within a minute the opposing team was down to three players.

"Rylie, I'm out!" Opie called to her friend. "Ryder's still in!"

Rylie nodded and grinned as she looked for her brother. Behind the masses of air filled shapes she could not find her brother, and she was cornered.

"Ryder?" She called.

"Yea?" Rylie whirled around to find her brother crouched behind a circular blow up five feet away from her. She saw her brother waiting for her, waiting for her command. She was the one that always came up with their strategies after all.

Rylie blocked out the roaring music and shouting teammates and stared at the grey color of the blow up triangle she was hiding behind. She had memorized the layout of the arena once they entered the room so she scanned it in her mind.

_There are eight members on a team. Two of ours are left, the other has three…they don't want to be taken out all at once, they're waiting for us to show ourselves… they wouldn't hide in the front, that leaves the four blow ups in the back. They're in the back they've cornered themselves._ Rylie's train of thought rushed through her mind within seconds. Laser tag is a simple game for the twins, so coming up with a strategy wouldn't be too hard because it is also a very limited game.

"Go on the outside." Rylie told Ryder. "We need to weed them out, get on the end and start shooting. It will get them into a panic and they'll poke out, that's when I'll shoot. Go."

With that Ryder made his way to the outside of the arena and began firing. Rylie remained in her place with her gun, she held it as if it were a sniper rifle, and waited for the next victim.

Two hours passed since the twins won the laser tag game and the team decided to go out for celebratory ice cream. The twins had no doubt they were going to lose, they never do.

"We need to do that more often," Opie gushed. "That's way too much fun!"

"We kicked asses too!" T added. "Ya gotta love a good ass kicking, especially when it's not ours."

The conversation about how great they were went on and on, Rylie and Ryder had lost interest in the conversation long ago…they both stared aimlessly out the windows of the ice cream parlor. Rylie had made the discovery a while ago that as long as they had many people around, they would all keep each other entertained without bothering her or her brother. She also knew that her brother was awful with social interactions, so this was a way of making him social without having to be social.

"Rylie."

Rylie quickly looked up from staring at her empty bowl of ice cream and stared at Ryder. He didn't say anything; he just stared over her shoulder. She then followed his gaze to find a man in a nice suit walk into the parlor.

_Why the hell would a man in a suit walk into a parlor?_ Rylie turned back around and grinned at herself. That sounded like the beginning to a horrible joke. Her thoughts quickly went south as her eyes widened and stared directly at Ryder…they shared the same anxious looks.

"He's not a college recruiter, Rylie." Ryder whispered harshly. They were only juniors in high school, but yet all of the big name smarty pants schools wanted Ryder, because he had the 'science'-y brain, the one that could hack any and all things, while Rylie stood in his shadow, with her more visual and artistic mind, which allowed her to photographically memorize anything. No one seemed to be interested in that.

"Government." Rylie murmured. "Black SUV parked around back a few minutes ago. There will be another sitting in the truck." She stared out the window to see the exact SUV. But no one was in it. Something was wrong. Rylie was always right.

She stared at the reflection in the window and casually snuck glances without looking suspicious at the other people in the room, besides their own group. Three other people dressed in casual clothing were whispering to themselves from different corners of the room.

They were being followed.

Rylie's pulse started to race frantically. These people planned this. They planned for her to see the man in the suit and have them leave the parlor.

Hesitantly, she sucked in a deep breath, gathered her thoughts…and smiled.

"Hey, Norman." Rylie grabbed her friend's arm and moved closer to the group. "You know that new game you're play? Black Ops? We should all have a tournament, thing, ya know?"

Ryder followed suit with his sister's act by placing his arm above Opie's head, along the head of the chair. "Yea, I heard there's a tournament for that game in San Francisco, we should go."

And so the twins immersed themselves into the 'normals', attempting to hide themselves. This would only last for so long.

"Hey, Bart," Ryder pulled out a bill from his wallet and handed it to his friend. "Get us a round of milkshakes, on me."

The group cheered, and as they cheered Rylie took in the scene behind them. The followers were growing weary; they were confused and trying to collect themselves. Rylie excused herself from the table and made her way passed one of the followers, managing to catch little of what he said before he realized she was walking passed him. He was larger than the others, more sensitive to things; he has a smidge of OCD. He would be the weakness.

Rylie entered the restroom and hid in one of the stalls.

"Three…two…" Click. Rylie held her breath. On cue, one of the female followers entered the bathroom. She walked slowly; she was trying too hard to be casual. The woman paused at the sink and began to wash her hands. Rylie quickly flushed the toilet once the woman began to murmur something to herself and left the stall.

Rylie turned on the faucet, as well as the hand dryer, at the same time. The woman glanced back at Rylie, allowing Rylie to get a good look at her face. She was a mother, but she brought no child with her. Mothers equal stress and tiredness. She couldn't stop Rylie even if she tried, so why would these people want to send her?

Rylie quickly came upon the conclusion. They wanted her to talk…. but what about?

"Excuse me?"

Rylie broke from her thoughts and stiffened. The woman stood facing her with an expectant stare.

"Huh?" Rylie managed to utter.

"Um," the woman nodded to the paper towels behind Rylie. "I need to dry my hands."

"Oh, right, sorry." Rylie said and backed up. She then made her way to leave the bathroom, and once she opened the door she walked down the aisle toward her table…but she paused. She noticed a man sitting behind one of the pillars at a table, keeping himself hidden; he knew what he was doing. If he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. He was more in charge than the man in the suit.

He was the one she was going to threaten for her brother's discomfort.

Rylie's eyes narrowed and anger fueled her stride as she weaved through the tables and chairs to him.

"What do you mean she's gone? Where could she go, it's an ice cream par-"

The man froze as he made eye contact with the angry girl.

"Oh, uh-"

"What do you want." It came out more of a statement than a question. Rylie sat herself down across from the man and glared menacingly. He looked taken a bit taken aback.

"Wait-."

"Answer the damn question or I break your face." Rylie growled.

"We want- I mean, we don't want-er, wait," the man groaned in annoyance at himself.

Rylie scowled viciously. "You have a behaviorist, an OCD fanatic, a mom, a government agent, and mechanic. You're all misfits. You're all here for my brother. So let me tell you this." Rylie stood of from her seat and leaned forward. "All of you leave this parlor right now and I _never _want to see any of your faces again. _Never _attempt to communicate with my brother, is that understood? Good." With that Rylie left the table and collected her friends before they left. Leaving the group tailing them behind.

"Well, _she_ was terrifying." Toby was the first to speak up after the group of teens left.

"I could've taken her." Happy muttered and crossed her arms over her chest. "If Paige hadn't stormed into the bathroom we wouldn't have let her leave."

Paige's mouth gaped at Happy. "She just needed to be talked to. We could have just explained the situation."

"It doesn't matter now," Agent Gallo cut them all off. "We need to try again as soon as possible." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and left the parlor, leaving the group behind.

"She means every word, you know." Toby waved his arms frantically. "Everyone word, she was scary angry, I thought she was going to flip the table."

"Well, I was the one sitting across from her," Walter muttered nervously. "How do you think I felt?" Toby opened his mouth to reply, but Walter quickly cut him off. "You don't need to answer."

"How are we supposed to talk to them now?" Happy demanded. "We need to find a weakness."

"A weakness?" Toby chuckled. "Ryder is the weakness, but Rylie is his protection, she never leaves his side, ever."

Walter paced back and forth in thought, Paige watched him intently.

Sylvester fiddled with his fingers, anxiously glancing at his teammates as they all argued. "Uh," everyone paused and looked at him."I-I mean, well, she, I mean, Rylie? She has anxiety, like me."

Everyone just stared at the statistics guru with confusion.

"What? How can you tell?" Walter asked.

"She lashed out at you when we did little to nothing to provoke her." Sylvester said.

Toby gasped and clapped his hands together. "She does! She does have anxiety! I can't believe I didn't see that!" he stared at the team with excitement. "Come on! I have a plan."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter Two! Thanks for the Favorites/Follows! Next two updates will either happen this week or next week, but definitely soon! Sorry this chapter is a little short, I'll be sure to have longer ones later as well as more backstory for my two characters!**

**Enjoy**

Rylie tapped her foot impatiently on the concrete sidewalk just outside the college Ryder taught at. It was three. Three was the time Ryder and Rylie would always leave at to spend an hour or two at the library four blocks away, just to hide in quiet after a long day. They always did that after school. Always.

But it was ten minutes after three.

Something was wrong.

Rylie glanced over her shoulder, her heart slowly making its way up her chest. Ryder is _never_ late. _Never_. Something was _wrong_.

Crowds of people walked passed her. There were girls with high buns, sunglasses and purses. Boys wearing flannels and backpacks.

Rylie squinted at the sky, leaves were changing colors, and fall was coming closer.

The noise of chatter from the groups of people all melted together. It sounded like a rushing river.

Rylie looked back at her phone.

_Do I go? Ryder never liked it when I barged in on his classes. He would be mad. But he never stays late. Ever._

Rylie groaned and tapped her foot faster. _What do I do? What do I do?_

_Screw it. Something is wrong._

Rylie whirled around and rushed to the front of the building. He taught advanced Computer Science and Computer Programming at the nearby college on Wednesdays and Fridays. This was a ritual of theirs.

All of a sudden, Rylie's Kim Possible ringtone broke her thought process. She came to a stop just before she entered the building, and pulled the phone out of her coat pocket. That was the ringtone Rylie had set for Ryder's number.

"Ryder, I-"

Rylie's stomach dropped. Before her eyes only two stories up was the classroom her brother was residing in, and he was talking to someone…and he wasn't on his phone.

"Hey, Rylie!" Ryder's voice erupted from the phone.

Hesitantly, Rylie went along with it. "Hey, I was waiting for you outside, where are you?"

She moved closer to the park bench, scanning the parking lot.

It only took her a split second to find the same black SUV from the night before parked on the far side of the lot. The damn government hackers.

"I'm still in the classroom, just give me a minute and I'll be right out." The voice modulator sounding like her brother said.

"Why don't I come in?" Rylie asked, her heart started to race. She couldn't tell if she was excited, or terrified.

"No, that's ok, I'll be right out." The voice said.

"No, that's ok." Rylie grinned and waved to the black SUV. "I think I'll come in."

Rylie ended the call, whirled around, and ran into the building.

"Mayday! Mayday!" a frantic shout from a man in a fedora running after her. Lucky for her she was faster.

Rylie bounded up the stairs, losing the man in the crowds of people, and turned the corner toward the classroom.

202..204…208

"210." she murmured under her breath and whipped the door open. Rylie was immediately met with the wide eyes of the curly haired man she threatened the night before and the surprised ones of my brother.

Rylie's heart pounded, and it filled the head splitting silence, her panting was coming in second place.

Once her heart and breath caught up to her and sent her death glare at the government hacker.

"What did I tell you…" Rylie growled. "What did I tell you I would do if I ever cau-"

It all happened so fast. The red light, everything in her vision going blank, the bang, the screams….It all played in her head as if it were a vision. It happened in seconds…so she rewound and hit play.

Rylie ran for her brother, grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground under his desk, before she shouted. "HIT THE DECK!" and she lept over the desk and tackled the curly haired man.

A gunshot was heard and glass shattered, sprinkling across the floor.

Seconds later, the group from the night before charged into the room, guns a blazin'.

"Rylie and Ryder Cooper!" the government agent snapped. Rylie sat up from the floor and glared at the man.

"What?" She shouted back at him with a snarl. "What could you possibly want?"

The agent walked up to her, daring to stand nose to nose with her. Rylie didn't hesitate under his intimidating glower.

"You two are hereby going to be taken under government protection." He snapped then ever so slightly softened as he took a step back to stare at them both.

"You two are being hunted."


	3. Chapter 3

**It's Saturdayyy! Yeah! Here is an early morning chapter update, hopefully this will suffice until my next update. I'm going to get a little further into my twins' backstories. And just so you all know the large section in italics is a flashback. I will probably have more of those in the future.**

**Anyways, Read&Review and enjoy!**

It had been two hours since Ryder and Rylie were taken under government protection. They were taken to a warehouse where there were five desks scattered through out the main floor, there were so many electrical cords that they would probably trip someone every five seconds, and computers, lots and lots of computers.

Agent Gallo had debriefed Ryder on the situation he was in, Rylie only heard bits and piece because, since the hunter didn't directly attack her, she shouldn't be worried.

Oh, but she was worried.

Rylie was so freaking worried, not for herself but for her brother's safety.

"Rylie! Rylie, Rylie!"

Ryder emerged from the other room, panting from running, and excitement brimmed his features.

"Ryder! Ryder, Ryder!" Rylie mimicked and grinned. "What?"

"Agent Gallo is recruiting me for Scorpion!" Ryder said.

"What the hell is a scorpion?"

They both paused. It slowly dawned on her her mistake and she slowly rubbed her right temple. Ryder just narrowed his eyes at her and grinned.

"You know what I mean…"

"It's this." Ryder waved his arms around electrical death trap of a room. "These geniuses. They're all geniuses like me! We're all misfits so we all fit together."

Rylie's heart dropped a little but she kept smiling for him. _Does he…want to leave me? But we're twins…we're made for each other, we're best friends, would he really drop me that easily? Is he going to leave me?_

Does he know how much_ he _needs_ me?_

* * *

><p><em>Little ten-year-old Ryder sat alone, refusing to go outside for recess that school day…again. Multiple boys came up to him and asked if he wanted to play, but he remained silent, and acted as though they weren't there. He only ever talked to Rylie most of the time.<em>

_Rylie had noticed her brother not out on the play ground, so she went to look for him, and when she found him, he was doodling numbers and shapes on his desk. _

_ "Ryder?"_

_ "Mm."_

_ "Why don't you come outside? You can play four square or hop-scotch with me."_

_ Ryder continued scribbling on his desk, leaning closer to it. Rylie leaned closer to the desk and noticed how the drawing looked so familiar. It was the classroom, but filled with numbers, he was calculating something._

_ "Are you trying to find out how big the classroom is, Ryder?" Rylie asked. Ryder glanced up at her then back at his drawing. Rylie stared closer._

_ "You're…trying to find out how big the fish in the fish tank is…to figure out if it needs a big tank?" Rylie guessed. _

_ Ryder looked up at her with wide eyes, Rylie could see it in his eyes, he was surprised. She smiled at her brother, thoughtfully. _

_ "It is a small fish…there's just too much stuff in the tank for it to be able to swim around." Rylie gestured over to the fish tank. Ryder gave her one last look before staring blankly at his doodles on the desk. He felt comfortable doing math, math was his safe place, just like how my safe place away from home is the library. "Maybe you can figure out whether or not the toys in the tank are too big, or the fish is too small, or if the tank is too small?"_

* * *

><p>So, Rylie stayed with Ryder. She stayed with Ryder and never went out recess again. She left her friends and devoted herself to making sure her brother was comfortable around other people, and as they got older, made sure she was there to defend him.<p>

Boy…wasn't that a big mistake.

"That's great, Ryder." Rylie said.

The door to another room swung open. Four people walked out, the black haired one, the one Rylie threatened, called for Ryder to join him. Ryder ran off with a new kick in his step.

And Rylie was left alone.

She found solace in sitting on a windowsill and fiddling anxiously with her fingers.

_Do I stay?_

_Do I go?_

_Ryder needs me…right?_

_They don't want me here. I'm sure they all hate me. I threatened their lives…_

_But I was protecting Ryder. I need to protect Ryder._

"Hi."

Rylie whirled her head toward the murmur and found the man with OCD she noticed before. He was bouncing back and forth on his feet and fiddling with his fingers as well.

"Hi." Rylie replied.

He glanced around before returning his gaze to her.

"I-I'm Sylvester, by the way." He said.

"I'm Rylie."

"I know, I mean, Agent Gallo, the man in the suit, told us." Sylvester tried to explain. "He knows you two on a government level."

"Ah." Rylie slowly nodded. She figured that out a while ago… well, she figured stuff out a lot quicker than most people, it's kind of creepy when someone knows more things about a person than they have told them so they learn just to ask the right question and the person will tell them what that person already knows.

An awkward silence over came the conversation. Rylie glanced away, wondering if this man was going to leave her alone or not. He just stood there. Watching.

"It's never safe." He suddenly said.

Her eyes narrowed at Sylvester. "What?"

"It's never safe." He said again. "Always making up scenarios in your head, of good things and bad things…usually bad. And you get nervous, scared, and worried that one of your scenarios might actually happen and there's nothing you can do about it."

Rylie stared at Sylvester with wide eyes.

"Your nervous tick, you rub your hands, fingers, knuckles." He nodded to my hands, to which she had totally forgot were rubbing her knuckles rhythmically. It was soothing.

"How-"

"You have anxiety." Sylvester cut her off quickly. "Like me. But the difference between us is that I have a deathly fear of germs which enacts my anxiety."

He was being honest…and so open. Rylie stared at Sylvester skeptically. Never had a person been so open with her before, especially if she had just met them. Rylie couldn't even see a lick of deception on his face. He was just being…friendly.

And she knew exactly how he felt.

"I worry about Ryder…a lot." Rylie explained. "Because we're twins, twins have a special connections, ya know?" Sylvester nodded as he listened. "He's always at risk…He could die any day. And if he died…I don't know what I'd do because Ryder is all I know. I protect Ryder, I make sure he's comfortable being himself, I've spent most of my life devoted to him." she fell silent. Sylvester stood there, patiently waiting for her to go on.

"Knowing that any moment Ryder is not safe puts me in a panic," Rylie sighed. "Because I don't know what I'd do without him."

Sylvester offered a sympathetic smile. That's another thing they had in common, they're both not very good at comforting people when they're anxious. Rylie smiled back to him, as a thank you.

"Do you know how to play chess?"

"No, but I can play a mean game of checkers."

Sylvester led her over to his desk and they grabbed objects that could suit as checker pieces. As they did this Rylie noticed the mother out of the corner of her eye, staring at her…so much emotion was in that stare and it made Rylie uncomfortable to no end.

_Mothers hold too much emotion…maybe that's why I never got along with mine._

But that's when Rylie got a good look at the people in the room with her. Typing away on their computers, laughing at their inside jokes, Ryder smiling and getting along with all of them.

All of the misfits...

_No._

_There was only one misfit in this room._

_And it was me._


	4. Chapter 4

**HAPPY SCORPION MONDAY! **

**In honor of such a glorious day here is another chapter and it's longerrrr!**

**I hope you guys like it!**

**Please Read&Review and enjoy!**

Rylie is rather good at observation, you know. She notices things that many people these days pretty much ignore, even the fairly obvious things. Like the nervous tick a smoker has when they haven't had a smoke in awhile, or the ever so slight startled reaction someone has to a barking dog because when they were a kid a dog attack them. Usually, she's right with these little scenarios, actually… she can't recall ever being wrong. There's just a process that goes on in her head that just connects everything together and she gets an answer. She can never explain it. It just happens.

Ryder was complicated to read at first, but Rylie eventually caught on to his reactions to things, how he observed everything, and his keen eye toward mathematics. Make note, Rylie started reading people when she was, like, five, so she didn't realize Ryder was a genius until her parents had him checked out by a psychologist when they were seven. Since the day those psychologists and doctors tested her brother and deduced he was a genius no one left him alone. Their parents hired the finest tutors and instructors to keep up with Ryder's growing intellect; they treated him like he was the risen Messiah, which was probably one of the factors in his inflated ego. It's also one of the reasons why Rylie disliked their parents, not the fact that they never paid attention to her, but the fact they corrupted her brother.

Ryder and Rylie got along when they were younger, but as they grew up they started to drift a part. The adults in his life were putting thoughts in his head; thoughts that just confused him and made him despise his sister.

He despised her for being _normal_.

He wanted to be _normal_.

If only he knew at the time how much she didn't want to be _that_.

Even though Ryder loathed her Rylie never stopped looking out for him, even if it was at a distance. Even though…she started to detest him herself… but she never let herself admit that, Rylie tried not to believe it.

She didn't want to hate him, and she didn't want him to hate her.

So Rylie kept her distance. Though that only made things worse.

Ryder, in his attempts to be _normal_, made friends with two boys in their class at school (though Ryder was a genius their parents wanted him to be friends with people their age so they enrolled the twins in a private school where he would still be able to do his advanced practices). They connected with Ryder in his love for video games and comfortableness with being anti-social.

The trio thrived together through out middle school.

Until the accident.

That's when everything fell apart.

It was February and they were all excited for graduating eighth grade that year and they were all talking about making their spring play their best play that year. Then their class was taken to their school's church by the principal. Everyone in the class thought their principal was a joke; they thought they were going to be lectured on proper manner in the lunchroom or something stupid like that. They all whispered amongst each other while the principal talked, he had a deep and slow voice that could put anyone to sleep, that is until a certain set of words came from his mouth.

_Our beloved classmate…Ryder's best friend, passed away the night before from a hit and run accident._

The moment the principal made that statement, it seemed like time just stopped. Not a single person dared to breathe in that moment.

Rylie felt her heart stop, her eyes were saucers, and she didn't know what to think. At first Rylie was wondering if she heard the man right.

_A friend of ours dead? Impossible. That could never happen._

But then a realization hit her in the head like a ton of bricks.

_Ryder._

The students in the class knew how close Ryder was with their classmate. They were best friends. They did everything together.

After the principal dismissed the class to console each other in the narthex, many students cried, others were still in shock, much like Rylie. Rylie sought out to comfort her fellow friends at the time…but for some reason she didn't think to look for Ryder. Actually, she don't even remember if he was in the narthex after they were dismissed.

Rylie didn't look for him.

After all the times she was there for him, to protect him…she couldn't protect him at this point.

Rylie had protected Ryder from bullies, from complications that might have interfered with his way of thinking, or social encounters.

But she couldn't protect him for a loss such as this. At least not in the way she should have. Physical and emotional contact was the only way to get through such a situation…except…Ryder never understood physical contact besides a handshake, and he could process simple emotion at this point.

Rylie wanted to be there for Ryder. She made desperate attempts to comfort him but just making mistakes and the situation worse. Ryder still despised her. Rylie foolishly made the attempt to give him a comforting hug, but he glared at her and walked away. Rylie attempted to talk to him, but then he looked himself away in his room.

He just pushed her away even further.

And…she let him.

There wasn't anything Rylie could do for him at that point besides letting him process it in his own way, no matter how long it would take.

After eighth grade they were freshmen at a public school.

Let's just say after the first couple of months Ryder didn't want to be there anymore.

He was lost. He went to a private school and every day did the same thing, and saw similar faces. Ryder was already shaken up by the loss of his best friend, now he was being thrown into a new environment with new and rambunctious people that didn't understand him like their previous classmates.

Rylie wanted to be there for Ryder, like she was before…but that entire year…Rylie never saw Ryder at school besides at home. He was avoiding her. Before, Ryder avoided talking to her unless he had to, even at home, but now, since they were in a bigger school, he made it a point to avoid her completely.

At this point, Rylie didn't care anymore. Actually…Rylie became cold, and angry deep inside. On the surface she was happy, but she had a simmering hate inside of her that was ready to leash out on anything and anyone. And it took everything she could to keep it tucked away.

Ryder _really _wanted nothing to do with her.

And Rylie accepted that.

So she moved on.

But there will always be a part of her that wants to protect Ryder. So when he wanted to transfer to a private school, Rylie went with him and he ended up loving it there, she tolerated it. The school was filled with snobs and people that thought they were geniuses and better than everyone else.

The kind of people like Ryder.

And idiots. Lots of idiots.

Their first year at the private high school was a little too much for her, Rylie had developed a hatred for mostly everyone there and she couldn't find a way to let the emotion out.

That's when she had a break down, a first of many; a 'friend' she had made liked to piss many people off, specifically her. He noticed her ultimate and avid hatred for being compared to Ryder and he constantly asked her about her brother, because he knew her strained relationship with him.

Then one day Rylie broke when the simple phrase came out of his mouth.

_Ryder is the smart twin, Rylie is the stupid one._

Oh, that tipped her over the edge.

Rylie wanted to hurt him. She wanted to hurt her 'friend' so bad. More than she ever wanted to hurt someone in her life, but she knew she'd get in serious trouble for maiming a student.

So she ran.

Rylie ran to the farthest depths of the school, a place where no one would find her.

The weight room.

She saw the giant black bag hanging from the ceiling and she charged at it.

She hit it.

She kicked it.

She screamed at it.

Rylie let everything out at it.

And it felt good.

From that day forward she went to the gym frequently, to let out her stress, but that soon wasn't enough. She started practicing martial arts such as tai chi, to calm myself, aikido and ninjutsu, for self-defense, and boxing, just for fun. It also became a once a month habit to go to the laser tag arena or paint ball range, Rylie had a strange developing affiliation with guns… just leave it at that for now.

A couple months into the new school one of the idiots found out of the passing of Ryder's friend a year ago.

And he thought it'd be fun to use that to provoke him.

Rylie watched the scene happen. The asshole got up close to Ryder, and Ryder still wasn't used to physical contact, so he couldn't fight back.

Luckily, for her, class was in session and she left her class to go to the bathroom at the right time to find the asshole poking and prodding at Ryder.

He taunted Ryder. Harassed him. Told him that his friend should have been paying attention when the car was coming. Told him that he was stupid.

So Rylie did what she only knew how to do.

She protected Ryder.

Rylie could feel Ryder's anger flow through her, since he was unable to transfer the energy into fighting back Rylie did it for him.

She ran at the asshole. She shoved him away from Ryder with full force, throwing him into a locker. The asshole was taken by surprise but when he realized it was a girl, he threw a punch at her.

Oh, boy, was that a big mistake.

Within seconds Rylie had sprained the asshole's wrist, though she could have done much worse, and lifted him by his shirt along one of the lockers. She got dangerously close to him as he whimpered.

Rylie told him, that if he dared speak, look in the direction, or even breathe the same air as Ryder, she would come after him and the next time he wouldn't be walking away with just a sprained wrist…actually, he wouldn't be _walking_ away at all.

She knew, that was a little bit over board, but it got the job done. The asshole ran away with a wet stain on his pants and Rylie felt like she finally accomplished something.

Then she turned around. Ryder was standing there with his mouth dangling open with surprise and horror. Rylie almost laughed…but then she remembered, they hadn't really…well, gotten along, ever, and he probably despised her even more because of this.

So, Rylie started to walk away, until a very faint voice broke the silence of the hallway.

"Rylie?" Ryder had said.

She felt her heart stop. _He…was talking to me?_ This was the first time he addressed her face to face in years. Rylie turned to face him and he was staring at her with a face she could tell was searching for an expression to give her, but he didn't know what kind of emotion was necessary for this situation.

"Uh…thanks for not…leaving me." He had whispered.

Rylie remained silent. How was she supposed to respond? He had intentionally abandoned her for years and she never left, she had protected him his entire life and he chooses now to thank her? It took him long enough…

Rylie couldn't find the words to respond to him, so she nodded. He nodded back. They turned and parted ways.

After that day, Ryder and Rylie grew closer, he took time out of his day to talk to her…usually to talk about himself, but still, it was progress. His friends were horrible influences on him; he liked to tell her how he was smarter than everyone else, how he was smarter than her.

Rylie's life progressed as it was before. Being the shadow of her _amazing twin brother_, Ryder. Rylie tried not to let it bother her so much, now that he was talking to her again.

Rylie can't help but still despise him a little bit.

Everything good happens to Ryder, everything gets offered to Ryder, people want to be around Ryder.

Ryder this, Ryder that.

She spent her whole life protecting her own worst enemy.

And he was currently solving a hacker case with his new mentor in the next room. He was having the time of his life while Rylie was doodling on a notebook on Sylvester's desk.

Ryder had wished he were _normal_ at one point in his life.

Now it was her turn, her turn to wish she was _different_.

"Rylie?" the woman, who Rylie recently discovered was named Paige, walked up to her. She held out a mug to Rylie filled with hot chocolate, she could smell it. "I brought you something to drink, do you like hot chocolate?"

"Yea," Rylie offered a smile and accepted the cup. "Thanks."

After she took a sip she couldn't help but chuckle, this was an attempt at a piece offering, a way for her to soften up and talk to Paige.

"What do you want to know?" Rylie said bluntly.

Paige blinked. "W-What?"

_Watch yourself, Rylie. Don't be rude; the woman gave you hot chocolate. Play nice for now._

"Oh, sorry, usually when people give me stuff they want to know something." Rylie treaded carefully. _Why not let the woman feel like she's helping me?_ "Sorry, if I came off rude."

Paige smiled softly at her. _Why was this woman even here? She wasn't a genius. She was too nice._

"It's ok, I'm sure you are under of a lot of stress right now," Paige said. "With this whole situation being thrown at the two of you all of a sudden."

"Yep." Rylie took another sip of the hot chocolate. _I've been more stressed than I am right now_.

Rylie watched Walter and Ryder excitedly chatter with one another in the next room over. What were they even doing? Toby and Happy had left a half hour ago, nobody would tell me where they went, and Sylvester was working with Walter and Ryder.

So Rylie was left with the _normal_ people.

"What's your child's name?" Rylie asked Paige.

"What?" Paige stared at her with wide eyes. "H-How did you know that?"

Rylie glanced at her. _Crap. How do explain something that I don't even know how I knew?_

"Eh, I'm a good guesser?" Rylie said.

Paige eyed her for a moment before she actually answered her question.

"His name is Ralph." She said. Rylie nodded and moved on to something she was actually interested in. Her brother.

"What are they doing in there?" she asked, gesturing to her brother and Walter.

Paige followed Rylie's gaze then looked back at her with a curious stare.

"Uh, I think, something to do with someone hacking into Harland Incorporated, stealing schematics for weapons or something like that." Paige said. "Why?"

"Harland Incorporated?" Rylie asked.

Paige nodded.

"Ah." she muttered and took another sip of hot chocolate before placing the cup down.

_Three, two, one…_

"We got it!" Walter cheered. In a blink of an eye Walter was at the door ready to leave. "Come on! We need to go to Harland Inc."

Ryder was a giddy ball of fluff, running after Walter. _Wait, did he say leave? Oh, hell no._

"No. Ryder, you're staying." Rylie said. Ryder stared at her with an appalled expression as if she _dared to speak to her king_ that way.

"What? No way!" Ryder argued. "You can't tell me what to do."

"She might not be able to," Agent Gallo stepped into the room. "But I am, and I second what she said. It's not safe for you out there when you're being hunted."

Rylie nodded in agreement to the government agent and looked at Ryder. He was glaring at her like a father telling his teenaged daughter that she couldn't have the hundred dollar jeans that look like all the other pairs of jeans…in other words he's staring at her like she just ruined his life.

"You know what else we would agree on?" Rylie said to Agent Gallo. "You giving me a gun."

"What? No." Agent Gallo said as if it were obvious.

"But what if the bounty hunter comes? I need to be able to defend us-"

"There are agents assigned to protect you, they are located around the perimeter of the building. You two will stay in here." Agent Gall said.

Walter sent Ryder an apologetic stare and left with Paige. Agent Gallo told the twins once more to stay in the building and he left with them.

Rylie returned to her seat at Sylvester's desk and continued her doodling. Rylie intended to ignore Ryder's intense glare, but after two minutes she just wanted him to go sit in a corner.

"What?" Rylie said.

"What the hell?!" he snapped. "Walter and I were going to find the hacker, we were going to solve the case."

_We?_

_When he says 'we' he usually refers to him and me…this time he wasn't._

Rylie laughed darkly. "'We'? What do you mean 'we'? You do know, once they find the bounty hunter these guys are going to drop you like a hot potato, right? These are government guys, Ryder. They want nothing to do with kids like us."

Ryder just got even more pissed.

"You're just saying that because you're just in the way, you're not being useful."

"Useful? You were shot at just yesterday!" Rylie snapped. "_I_ saved you and _Walter_, without me you two would be _dead_."

Ryder shook his head, as if she just made the story up.

"You're just jealous of me." Ryder argued. "You're jealous that this isn't about _you_, because no one is paying attention to _you_. Not everything is about you, Rylie! You think you're so innocent, stop being so self-centered!"

Ryder stormed out of the room, leaving her with her mouth dangling open.

_That bastard._

_The narcissistic asshole._

All of a sudden the pencil in her hand broke. Rylie hadn't realized her grip was tightening…she threw the bits of the pencil at a wall in fury.

_A fire escape._

Rylie froze. The image of the fire escape along the building would allow Ryder to climb to the roof of the warehouse next door and escape down the fire escape on that building.

Ryder was going to run.

Rylie got up from her chair and ran into the room in search of Ryder.

It was empty.

She ran up the stairs into the kitchen area, took one quick sweep of the room, and her eyes fell upon an open window, the one to the fire escape.

He ran.

"Shit."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you guys liked this chapter! <strong>

**And I hope you guys are excited for the next episode tonight, because I am!**

**;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the delayed update folks! I plan on updating every Monday and Saturday from now on. :)**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter! Next one is coming on Monday!**

**Please Read&Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy!**

Rylie's feet pounded against the pavement as she ran down the sidewalk. She had escaped the same way Ryder did, hopeful he hadn't gotten far, but the bastard had somewhere escaped her vision. She weaved through the crowds of people along the sidewalk, her heart pounding, and the small sense of a migraine coming on.

She wanted ever so badly to be pissed right now, but every second she couldn't see her brother the more she thought this bounty hunter guy found him before her.

Ultimately, this might seem like a ridiculous idea. Running in the direction of Harland Incorporated instead of just calling her brother.

Well, he wouldn't answer. If he wanted this that bad, he would make sure Rylie couldn't find him.

Which is why Rylie is going to the one place where he wants to be.

"Harland Incorporated." Rylie huffed as she finally arrived at the building. It was a _tall_ skyscraper, the gang must be at the top, important people like to be above everyone else, since it is a weapon and security corporation there must be top-notch security, so how does Ryder think he'll get in?

He would hack into the building's security system.

He can't do it inside. He didn't have a computer on him when he left.

He would use his phone.

As her thoughts raced through her brain Rylie scanned the area, looking for anyone that look like her brother or places he might have gone.

_It's been eight minutes, he must have gotten in by now, he must be…_

Her gaze fell upon the familiar brown mop of hair inside the building, just about to go passed security.

"Shit." Rylie muttered. There was no way she could stop him now. She just needed to get in some how.

_But where? Where could I get in?_

_A back door. There is always a back door._

_Luckily for me I was wearing my favorite big blue hoodie, so I can get passed the cameras without being recognized._

_Sadly, I was wearing my favorite big blue hoodie…because I would later have to get rid of the evidence._

_Oh well._

Rylie zipped her hoodie up and lifted the hood over her head, blocking her face, then made her way toward the back alley of the building. She came upon the door and just as she was about to open it she realized it was locked.

_Crap_.

Rylie grumbled to herself. _What now? What now, what now!?_

_Waiting. Just wait. There are over hundreds of people working in this building. At least two people are bound to use this door every fifteen to twenty minutes._

"Hey, did you get that filing shit done for George?"

"Are you kidding? George can kiss my ass."

Rylie held her breath just as the door opened, she was safely tucked away behind a dumpster as the two coworkers took their smoke break.

_Come on, assholes, let's get a move on._

Just as they put their cigarettes to their lips, they were done. Geez, it was like a competition to see who could inhale their cigarettes the fastest. As the two coworkers turned their backs Rylie made her way back to the door. Slowly tip toeing her way behind them.

One of the men swung the door open and right before it closed Rylie grabbed the handle.

_One. Two. Three. Four. Five._

_Go._

Rylie raced into the back room. It was a maintenance closet, just what she needed.

Rylie ripped her hoodie off and ditched it in the sewage bucket, then grabbed a janitor uniform hanging in the room and left.

_Fun._

Keeping her head down, Rylie tailed one of the 'expensive' looking suits to the elevator and took a ride up with him. Just as they made it to the top floor Rylie once again ditched her outfit and tossed it in the trash can…while she ignored the startled looks from the stuck up women in the bathroom.

_Voices. I hear voices. I hear Walter's voice. He's talking with Agent Gallo._

Rylie followed the voices down the hallway, and as she walked down the hallway, guess who she caught.

Ryder had just gotten to the room, and right before he entered, Rylie busted him.

"Boo."

He jumped and stared at her with wide eyes.

"What?! Rylie? How did you get in here?" he gasped.

"You don't need to know and you shouldn't be here." Rylie said. "Come on, before you get us in even more trouble than we already are."

Ryder glared at her. "No! I want to be here, they want me here."

_If they wanted you here, they would have brought you…why can't he see the situation like I can?_

Ryder entered the room and Rylie didn't stop him. If he wanted to embarrass himself and get them in trouble then fine. He'll get his way.

As Rylie waited for the soon to be yelling government agent Rylie noticed a pile of mail outside the room.

_Well, I already did the breaking and entering bit, why not open another man's mail too?_  
>Rylie sifted through the junk mail and came upon a slightly more interesting letter than getting a two for one sandwich at Subway.<p>

And in a split second, Rylie had solved the case.

"Ryder, what the hell are you doing here?!"

Right on cue.

Walter, Paige, and Agent Gallo left the office of the CEO, all glaring at Ryder. And it didn't faze him one bit.

"I came to help! Like you guys wanted!" Ryder smiled up at the adults.

Rylie mentally face palmed. If this boy couldn't see how ignorant he was then he would have to learn the hard way.

"No, we told you to stay put." Walter said to him.

"And where's Rylie? Does she know where you are?" Paige added.

"Here and yes." Rylie piped up finally the group turned to her, hiding along the wall. "And before you all start shouting 'What the hell are you doing here' and 'You to put yourselves in danger' yada yada yada," she narrowed her eyes at Gallo. "Ryder escaped your agents outside the building. I pursued him. He used the front door and I used the back door. One thing led to another, and now we're here."

Agent Gallo sniffed angrily at them. Rylie couldn't help but smirk. It was rather amusing.

"You two better have a good reason for being here," he shot a look at Ryder. "Other than just wanting to be here."

Before Ryder could start a stupid argument Rylie cut in.

"We didn't before," Rylie said then twirled the envelope in her hand. "We do now."

"What does that mean?" Agent Gallo demanded.

"What did the CEO tell you?" Rylie asked him. Obviously he wasn't going to tell her, this mission wasn't for her or Ryder to know about, Rylie just thought asking would be nice. "Did he tell you he had nothing to do with this? Did he give you a name of a rival company to investigate? Denver Inc, right? He probably also dropped a few hints pointing in the direction of innocent people."

Rylie watched the expressions on their faces change, giving her the sign that any of the things Rylie said might be true.

_I was obviously right._

_I usually am._

"Well, he's lying." Rylie said bluntly and stepped toward Ryder, taking a place in front of Agent Gallo. "It's obvious. He is most-likely stealing his own schematics for his tech or he hired someone to do it for him."

"Obvious?" Walter scoffed. "Nothing is obvious. _This_ isn't obvious. So, how could you possibly be sure Joseph Harland is lying?"

_Wow, okay. Little bit of a diva, aren't we?_

_How could these geniuses not know? I mean, I honestly thought it was obvious._

Rylie glanced at each of their faces as she went on, "The new insurance policy."

There was a moment of silence.

"The new insurance policy that Harland Inc. got about a year ago, which most likely states that if the company comes upon a situation like this they'll gain a lot of money, like _a lot_," Rylie said. She could see on Walter's face that he started to connect the dots. "It's a cliché situation. Many companies have done the same thing, and also…" she waved the envelope she had grabbed from the floor. "I also swiped this bank statement from the mail cart outside Mr. Harland's office, and it states the company is going bankrupt."

The group stared in silence. Anxiety suddenly filled her stomach.

_What if they don't believe me?_

_How do I prove my theory? I could be completely wrong._

_They probably think I'm stupid. They did only want Ryder, I'm just a burden, and I just broke into a high security building._

_What the hell._

_Is my head supposed to be throbbing? Or is that my heartbeat? Am I supposed to feel my heartbeat in my head? Oh God I'm going to pass out._

"You can't possibly know that. You're wrong." Ryder said. "I know it."

"Fine." Rylie shrugged and glanced at the others. _Be calm. Be calm. You're right until proven wrong._ "While you spend hours trying to prove me wrong the closer Mr. Harland comes to getting away with the money. So find the evidence that proves me right."

Agent Gallo raised an eyebrow at Rylie. Sweat covered her hands as she rubbed them on the sides of her pants, Rylie had gotten rid of her jacket so she couldn't bundle her hands in her sleeves like she did whenever she got nervous.

"Well, let's not waste anymore time then." Agent Gall grunted and led the way toward the elevator.

Paige came up to Rylie and grinned. "How did you do that? That was amazing!"

"Let's just say I like doing things the old fashion way." Rylie smiled up at her.

Paige smiled down at her as she walked passed offering her a reassuring nod, and Ryder stuffed his hands in his pockets as he came up to his sister.

"You better not be making this up." He grumbled and trudged passed her.

_Whatever._

Walter came up to Rylie; he had the envelope with the bank statement that she had open in his hand.

"You know opening another person's mail is illegal, right?" he said.

"Yes." Rylie replied.

Walter just stared at her. It made her uncomfortable. She never liked staring directly into people's eyes, it makes her anxious. _Why is he staring?_

"You just softened Agent Gallo's blow on Ryder." Walter stated.

Rylie nodded._ Where was he going with this?_  
>"Why? I mean, I understand why you would run after him, there's a bounty hunter after him, but why something as trivial as him being reprimanded?" Walter asked. "Why stop that?"<p>

Rylie froze.

_Why stop Ryder from getting what he deserved?_

_Why do I want to save my worst enemy?_

"Ryder doesn't know any better." Rylie muttered.

"He's seventeen." Walter argued. "He should be able to think for himself and make his own decisions."

"He isn't in the right mind to do so." Rylie said.

"Why not?" Walter snapped.

_Was he getting angry with me? Walter was getting angry with me! What the hell!?_

"Why not?" Rylie repeated the question. _Why not what? Why not stop my brother from making stupid decisions?_

"Because you think he's special?" Walter said. "You think he's 'special' so he doesn't have the mental capability to handle himself?"

"What? No!" Rylie burst. "Ryder is a genius. He's special because he's a genius. He can't think for himself because all he thinks of is _himself_!"

_Oops._

_Well…now that's out._

Walter narrowed his eyes at her. _Did he not believe me? He's just like Ryder. Well he can go to hell for all I care._

For some reason, Rylie's mouth thought it was smart enough to continue…

"Ryder only thinks of himself," she repeated. "So he isn't aware of how his actions affect others, he doesn't recognize he's in danger because his entire life I was there for him, I was there to protect him." Rylie paused and thought about what she was going to say next. She had already burst out more than she would like, she doesn't plan on saying more, so she just summed it up. "Yes, I consider Ryder special, so does everyone else we know," I gulped nervously. "Which is why I do whatever I can to protect him."

Before he could say anything else Rylie scurried away, she didn't want him to tell me what she already knew, and he doesn't know her and she doesn't know him.

Rylie just met these people and they think they know her.

_This is why I don't get close to people. They think they know what's best for me._

"Maybe you always protecting your brother is the exact reason why he's like this." Walter called after her.

_Go to hell._

_Go to hell._

_Go to hell._

My head started to throb. _No, don't start questioning yourself, things go crazy when you start questioning yourself._

_He thinks I don't know the consequences of my actions._

_I took those actions to keep my brother safe._

_I deserve everything that my brother says to me, I'm the one that made him like this._

_This is all my fault._


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy Scorpion Monday! Here's another chapter, hope you guys like it!**

**Please Read&Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy!**

**:)**

The world was a blur. All Rylie could see since her argument with Walter was a blur, she couldn't think straight, or see straight, she felt like she would pass out. Her heart was pounding in her chest and sweat was glistening her forehead as she attempted to keep pace with the rest of the team.

As the cyclone arrived at the front of the building they exited the doors and all the hairs on Rylie's neck stood on end.

She could sense something was wrong, she couldn't tell what it was because her brain was all fuzzy, but she knew something was definitely up.

Black Sedan?

Rylie's gaze fell upon a black Sedan that started to slow down along the road.

She knew what was going to happen, but her body wasn't able to process what actions she wanted to take in that moment. It was like it wouldn't listen to her. As if it were a punishment.

Rylie stopped walking and just stared, trying to process what was happening, even though she knew. It was rather confusing to her; it was like she had completely forgotten how to do anything.

_No. _

_ Don't do this to yourself._

_ Not again._

_ Stop it. STOP IT!_

The cyclone had already gotten farther away from her when she realized the black Sedan had the head of a gun sticking ever so slightly out…and it was pointed at Ryder.

_NO!_

Rylie's feet, no longer feeling like stones, moved her forward. She picked a fist sized rock by a decoratively placed tree in the middle of the city and gained speed, weaving through the bystanders, and eventually reaching a park bench, which she propelled herself off of.

She pulled her arm back, and then threw the rock in her hand at the windshield of the Sedan, managing to make a rather big crack. The sound of gunshots melted with the glass shattering sound from the windshield.

Rylie, not being as coordinated as she had hoped she was in that moment, collided with the concrete, right in front of the now crouching Ryder.

_What the hell._

_ What the hell just happened?!_

Rylie finally took in the entire scene. The Sedan had sped away seconds after Rylie's attack, bystanders were scattered and screaming, and the cyclone was as confused and startled as usual.

"Get Ryder back to base." Agent Gallo commanded and ran in the direction of the Sedan with his walkie-talkie in hand.

Walter grabbed Ryder by the arm and the group proceeded to run back to Scorpion headquarters. Rylie, still slightly disoriented, watched them go, she didn't run with them, she was pretty sure they had forgotten all about her. She didn't matter to them anyway, it's not like she risked her life for Ryder two days in a row.

So, Rylie took a seat next to the decorative tree and began to rethink the whole situation they were in.

A bounty hunter is after Ryder, and this government formed genius group adopted Ryder until the government finds this hunter. That's it…pretty much.

_Who would want Ryder dead? _

Rylie narrowed her eyes in contemplation. Sure, Ryder was obnoxious and an asshole, but surely not bad enough that anyone would want him dead.

_Maybe they don't want him dead._

Rylie's eyes widened in surprise when she came to the conclusion. _The hunter doesn't want him dead! Just to scare us enough that he can kidnap Ryder!_

_But our family is not rich…we could never pull off a ransom…what would be the point in kidnapping Ryder?_

In a matter of seconds the answer found it's way to Rylie's head, her eyes widened, and fear etched her every feature.

"Oh shit!" she gasped. "No. No!"

Rylie bolted up from her spot on the ground and ran as fast as she could back to Scorpion headquarters.

_No, we destroyed it! We destroyed it I know I saw! Ryder wouldn't keep it, would he? Oh, the little bastard would! I'm going to kill him!  
><em>Rylie pushed passed the security at the front doors and tackled the door in. Rage now laid upon her face as her copper eyes scanned the room of startled people, and she met the confused blue eyes of her brother.

"Ryder!" Rylie growled furiously and charged at her brother, pinning him against a wall.

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Walter attempted to pry Rylie off Ryder, but her kicked him in the knee, causing him to stumble over. Everyone else waited in a fear silence.

Rylie directed her attention back to Ryder, his eyes wide with surprise, but irritation definitely was the more prominent look on his face.

"You said you deleted it!" Rylie growled. "I _saw_ you do it!"

"What are you talking about?" Ryder demanded.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Rylie snapped. "It's the whole reason why that freaking bounty hunter is after you, it's why the government chose to 'recruit' you in with their genius bar, it's the whole fucking reason why these people won't leave you alone!"

Ryder pursed his lips together. He knew what she was talking about, he didn't want to believe it…so he wasn't going to.

"You idiot!" Rylie shouted. "We agreed! This is too fucking dangerous for anyone to handle! We erased it for a _reason_! _This exact reason_!" she quickly adjusted her grip on her brother's shirt and got dangerously close to his face. "Tell. Me. You. Erased. It"

Ryder remained silent and he ever so slightly glanced away before replying with a quiet, "Yes."

He was lying.

Rylie dropped her brother and roared with fury. She kicked an office chair over and slammed her fists on a desk.

_The fool! He might be classified as a genius but he is the biggest idiot I know!_

"What didn't Ryder erase?"

Rylie looked up from her anger outburst, Paige was standing before her with a concerned stare and using her soft tone…as if talking to a child.

Rylie sniffed and turned back to her brother, who he was consoling with Walter that moment. _Pathetic_.

"Ask _them_." Rylie spat in the direction of Ryder and Walter.

The room fell silent, and the bodies turned toward the two geniuses.

"Walter?" Paige narrowed her eyes questioningly.

"What's crazy girl talking about?" Toby asked. Rylie let that slide for now.

Walter looked down at Ryder, expecting him to explain himself. Ryder only crossed his arms over her chest and pouted, like a child.

"It's…a schematic…of sorts." He grumbled. Rylie growled as paced back and forth up and down the aisle.

"A schematic?" Toby raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"Obviously not." Happy muttered and crossed her arms as well. She stared to grow frustrated.

"That's all that it is," Ryder said. "A schematic."

"A schematic for what?" Sylvester asked nervously. Watching Rylie angry made him anxious. "A bomb?"

Paige's eyes widened. "A bomb? You made a bomb?"

"No." Ryder rolled his eyes. "Making a bomb is too easy."

Rylie shook her head and continued her pacing.

"Come on, Ryder," Walter nudged the seventeen year old. "Tell us."

Ryder glanced around the room and sighed dramatically.

"Fine. It's a schematic for a world wide power outage." Ryder shrugged, like it was no big deal. Which it did actually sound like.

"A power outage? That's it?" Happy raised an eyebrow.

"No," Rylie finally stopped her pacing and resumed glaring at Ryder. "Not just a power outage… a worldwide, permanent electrical-power blackout."

"What?" Toby looked back and forth at the twins. "Why? Why would making a schematic for that be a _good_ thing?"

"I was bored?" Ryder said.

Rylie growled. "And remember what happened when _we were working on the damn thing_? You remember the people that were after us?"

"Rylie!" Ryder snapped. "Relax! The schematic is safe, I swear."

"Bullshit!" Rylie spat. "That thing should be burning in Hell!"

"Ryder," Walter's voice was dangerously calm. Rylie could see in his eyes that he was having a mild panic attack…he didn't know about the schematic. "Why would you make a schematic for a permanent worldwide electrical power blackout?"

"I wasn't the only one working on it!" Ryder complained. "Rylie and I worked on it. She covered all necessary areas that I couldn't. She pretty much did half of it."

The room fell silent.

_Now the little bastard tells them we work together? The little shit._

Rylie frowned and stared back at the surprised stares.

"What?"

"You wrote half of the schematic?" Walter seemed legitimately surprised.

Rylie sighed and nodded. "Yes, is that so hard to believe?"

The cyclone glanced around at each other, they all believed Rylie wasn't a genius…well, she technically wasn't 'Ryder genius' but she was definitely not stupid.

"Ryder wrote the code for it," Rylie explained. "I came up with…" she bit her tongue as if suddenly remembering everything about the day they worked together. "I came up with the targets, which cities the power outage would affect first…how long it would take for ultimate world panic, which countries would attack one another…and, well, the apocalypse/ World War 3 would begin."

_Ok, that sounded a lot nicer in my head._

Rylie then resumed her glaring at Ryder. "And we made it as easy as pushing a button."

Sylvester looked like he was about to pass out, Paige sat down with her face in her hands and Happy just looked stunned.

"Oh my God," Toby said. "I'm standing next to two little Hitlers."

"Not Hitler," Ryder corrected. "We're a lot worse than that."

"Not helping, Ryder!" Rylie snapped.

"What made you think making this would ever be a good thing?" Walter strode toward Rylie. She stiffened and glared up at the man. Whenever he spoke to her he rubbed her the wrong way.

Rylie ignored him and turned back to Ryder.

"Why didn't you delete it?" she demanded.

"It's too powerful to just delete, Rylie," Ryder tried to reason. "It's too valuable."

"Valuable to bad guys!" Rylie snapped. "You remember those people that were after us, Ryder? Remember the one's that threatened to _kill_ everyone we know and love? Remember the _torture_ I went through to _protect_ you and that damn thing?"

_The torture._

Rylie paused as her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't supposed to say that. Maybe the others didn't hear her…so she carried on calmly.

"We agreed it was best to get rid of it _permanently_." Rylie said. "They're back, Ryder, and they're going to stop at nothing to get their grubby little hands on it."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Walter narrowed his eyes. "Who's back?"

Rylie and Ryder turned to Walter and said in unison, "Trackers."

"Trackers?" Sylvester gasped.

"I thought those guys were a myth?" Toby looked over at Walter with raised eyebrows.

"They're as real as I am." Rylie said.

"What are Trackers?" Paige spoke up after recomposing herself.

"Trackers are terrorist hackers." Rylie explained. "They hack into high ranking places and acting like terrorists on the internet."

Walter frowned. "And they hired someone to kill Ryder?"

"No," Rylie said. "They're going to kidnap him and threaten him until he gives up the schematic."

"How do you know that?" Toby asked.

Rylie frowned and stared back at Toby with a hesitant stare.

"Because that's what they tried to do last time."

The room fell silent again. The cyclone was still trying to process what was actually going on.

"I need to go pick up Ralph," Paige finally said and proceeded to leave the room.

Happy left silently, probably to her garage, and Sylvester disappeared into the kitchen. Toby sat back down at her desk, his hands rubbing his face.

Rylie turned to Ryder, her disapproving glare intensified.

Ryder returned the glare and shook his head before he walked back to his own desk and typed away on his computer.

"What made you think making this was a good idea?"

Rylie groaned with annoyance and turned to Walter. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

"Because I enjoy the destruction of life itself," Rylie muttered sarcastically. "Why do you care?"

"Because you're putting everyone on Earth in danger," Walter said. "So answer my question."

Rylie was getting tired of him 'asking questions', it was more like an interrogation between a child services worker and an abusive parent, like he thought Rylie was abusing Ryder.

She attempted not to sound offended.

"You really want to know? You really want to know why_ I_ came up with the plan, because _I_ came up with the _whole thing_? All of this is my fault? Fine!" Rylie scoffed angrily at Walter's accusation.

"I wanted to be closer to Ryder." Rylie snapped at Walter. "I wanted to be closer to my brother and the only way to do that was to do something together. We worked on something together and the first time in a _long_ time we actually got along. Is that so bad? Wanting to be closer with my family?"

Walter pursed his lips together, he wanted to be furious oh so badly…but he saw the pain and regret in her eyes. She was in so much emotional pain…how could he not see that before?

Rylie turned her back to him, ready to walk away, when his hand found her shoulder.

She flinched at the sudden contact and whirled around with surprised eyes.

Walter stared at her with a sad expression, almost concerned.

"You said you were tortured." He whispered.

Rylie held her breath. Shit, he _had_ heard her.

"What do you mean by that?"

She glanced away anxiously then looked back at Walter, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"Nothing." Rylie muttered. "It means nothing. Forget I said it."

She quickly turned around and returned to her perch on the windowsill.

Walter stared after her and he felt guilt resonate inside him. He slowly started to realize, Ryder wasn't the one that needed their help.

Rylie was.


	7. Chapter 7

**SURPRISE! Just because I wrote this chapter early and it's Scorpion Monday I decided to post this today instead of Saturday. It's kind of short, but, since this is a surpass chapter, there is a surprise ending! :D**

**Please Read&Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy!**

**And enjoy tonight's episode of Scorpion!**

* * *

><p>Fall. Fall was Rylie's favorite time of the year.<p>

The leaves changing, the smell of dead leaves in the air, pumpkin spice lattes (yes, they're her favorite Starbucks drink, if she could get them year round she would), wearing boots, sweaters, and scarves, and feeling relaxed. Every year around this time her father would have her driven to Portland, Oregon, and they would go site seeing, camping, hunting, and going to the gun range. Rylie honestly liked her father more than her mother; there was no hiding that, only because Rylie has more in common with him.

And he was a federal agent.

And Rylie just thought his job was exciting…also the fact that he was located in Oregon, away from the mother. Her parents weren't divorced, though Rylie thought they should be, her mother's job requires her to stay in Los Angeles and father's requires him to stay in Oregon.

But, Rylie couldn't go to Oregon as planned this year…because of the bounty hunter after her brother. This put a rather large damper in her mood, more than it already was.

"Hey Dad," Rylie had finally managed to get a hold of her father that night after her many attempts to get her father's partner at the agency, Finn Thatcher, to stop talking to her. Finn occasionally likes to pick up her father's desk phone…coincidentally when she calls.

"Hey, kiddo," Dad said. "How are you?"

"Good, good. You?" Rylie asked.

"Just dandy." Dad laughed. "What's going on? Anything exciting going on? You and Ryder getting along?"

Rylie smiled slightly. She adjusted her seat at the windowsill, watching the city lights of LA sparkle in the night sky and held the warm cup of hot chocolate in her free hand. The lights in the warehouse were off, and the room she was in was make shifted into a temporary bedroom for her and Ryder. They were to stay there until the mission was over and the hunter was caught.

"You know what's going on, Dad." Rylie murmured. Her voice sounded tired, like she didn't know how much more of this excitement she could take. "I looked it up, Agent Gallo is a part of your division."

Dad chuckled over his line. Rylie took another sip of her hot chocolate, patiently waiting for him to continue.

"I can never hide anything from you," he sighed. "So, what's up? Is there something you need to know?"

"Have you found anything on the bounty hunter?" Rylie asked in a whisper. Ryder was asleep on his bed in the corner of the room. He was a sound sleeper, but Rylie kept quiet just in case.

"Not really, well, yes, but nothing interesting, really." Dad rambled. "Well, actually, there might be something. Gimme a second."

Rylie waited patiently again, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. It was nearly one in the morning, she decided she wouldn't be able to sleep until this shit was solved, might as well get ahead of the game.

"Rylie?"

"Yea?"

"We did find few things. LAPD sent us everything they gathered from the crime scene, we got a few bullet casings, glass from the windshield," he paused. Rylie could feel him grinning on the other line. "Nice work by the way."

Rylie giggled and shook her head.

"Uuh…no license plates, we've traced everything on any black sedans connected to this shooting, but nothing else. Huh, sorry, I thought I might've had something for you…hmm." Dad paused again.

"What?"

Rylie heard him sigh.

"The guys here are trying to keep me out of the loop on this case as much as possible…but, I've been hearing them talk…" he hesitated. "You and Ryder…you two got involved with a very bad crowd, didn't you?"

Silence.

"The Trackers."

"Yea."

"They're after you two again."

"Yea."

Silence.

Rylie stared down at her mug, rhythmically rubbing circles around the top. Is

_He disappointed?_

_ He's probably disappointed. _

_Is he mad at me?_

_I couldn't stand it if he was mad._

"Do you want me to visit you?" Dad finally asked.

Rylie was taken aback slightly.

"Uh, no, no, you're needed there."

Silence.

"I'm trying my hardest not to ask questions, Rylie." Her father sighed. "But it's like you and Ryder have a whole secret life I don't know about."

"Yea, we kind of did." Rylie said. "It's over now…it's just come back to haunt us."

"Can I just ask you one question?" Dad asked uncertainly. "Without, judgment, or anger?"

"Off record?"

"Off record."

"Ok."

"Did you and Ryder write that code when you two were a part of the Trackers?" Rylie could hear ever so slight distressed tone in her father's voice.

He wanted to know if we plotted against our own country. Against the world.

And at the ripe age of fifteen.

There was a long silence over the line. Rylie stared over at her sleeping brother. He was still so innocent, in a sense, and yet so smart. She kept all of his actions a secret; all of _her_ actions were a secret. How could she tell her father about their secret lives? It would crush him… but could she really lie to someone she loved so much?

"Yes."

Silence.

Rylie could hear her father sigh again. He was good at sighing.

"Ok." Was all he said. What else could he say? Rylie just admitted to plotting against her own country with terrorist hackers and her brother. She didn't want to explain herself, she didn't think he'd believe her if she did.

"Ok." Was her reply.

"Where's Ryder?" her father asked.

"He's sleeping."

"You should be too."

"I'm to awake to be asleep." Rylie joked lightly.

"We have a long week a head of us." Her father stated. "You need the rest…you need to look out for your brother."

Rylie sighed. "Yea."

"I'm going to hang up now." Her father warned. "Tell Agent Gallo I say hi, and if anything happens to you two while he's on duty, I'll have his head on a platter."

Rylie giggled. "Ok. Love you."

"Love you too, kiddo."

Rylie put her phone down. Her hot chocolate and gone cold by the time she was done talking to her father. Another reason why she liked her father more than her mother was the fact that he trusted Rylie, he trusted her to get things done and to protect herself and her brother.

She jumped off the windowsill and tip toed out of the room. The kitchen was just outside the room, she placed the mug in the sink and took a seat on the counter, eating out of a bag of almonds she requested. It was a comfort snack for her.

_Crick. _

Rylie slid off the counter silently and crouched behind the counter.

Someone was in the room with her.

She grabbed the closest object to her and readied herself for attack mode.

_One…_

_Two…_

_Three!_

Rylie leapt up from the ground and onto the table, in the direction of the intruder.

"Whoa, whoa! Rylie, calm down, it's just me."

Rylie narrowed her eyes. "Walter?"

The lights turned on causing Rylie to flinch and squint down at the man. Walter raised his hands to his chest, showing her he meant no harm. Like he could harm her in the first place.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "I thought all of you went home."

"I came back, I had work to finish." Walter explained. He frowned as he stared at my hand. "Is…that a mug?"

Rylie looked at her hand as well, it was the first object she grabbed to defend herself. Well, it wasn't that bad. She had grabbed worse.

"Yes." Rylie said and jumped down from the table to put the cup back. "Is there something you wanted?"

_Please say no._

_Say no and leave._

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

_Dammit. I hate you._

"What?" Rylie took her spot back on the counter and began to eat her almonds again.

"About your abilities?" Walter clarified and held up a file. A profile on Rylie. "You're practically a lethal weapon."

Rylie snorted.

_He decides now to do research on me?_

_I can't tell if I'm flattered or creeped out._

"Because it doesn't matter?" she nearly laughed. He was trying to be interested in her now, now that he know she has abilities just as good as Ryder's.

"Of course it matters!" Walter objected. "Rylie, for all we know, the bounty hunter could be after _you too_."

"Oh, that's flattering and all, but no, they're not after me. I'm not important enough." Rylie said sarcastically.

"Why do you think you're not important?" Walter demanded. "You're just as important as Ryder is!"

"Why?" Rylie snapped. "Because you _just_ figured out I'm just as smart as Ryder but in another realm of the brain? _Now_ I'm important? Gee, thanks, I feel special now."

She glared and grumpily chomped on her almonds. He's lucky talking with her father calmed her down a bit, or she would have thrown him across the room.

"You should be." Walter said. "You _are_ special."

_I'm sorry, sir. I thought you hated the word 'special'._

_Jackass._

"I'm not special," Rylie murmured. "Not _Ryder_ special, that is."

"You could do anything just as well as he can." Walter argued. "You're twins-"

"So that makes us exactly alike?" Rylie scoffed. She was about to go into hysterics. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're fraternal twins."

"That's not what I meant-  
>"No, that's not what anyone means," Rylie muttered under her breath. "Ryder can do math, so you should be able to do math. Ryder's smart, so you're just as smart as him!" Tears started to fog her vision. "Why can't you do things just like Ryder?!"<p>

Just as Walter was about to start talking again Rylie throttled the bag of almonds in his direction, nearly taking out his head, and buried her face into her hands. So much for being calm. It was like her talk with her father just flew out the window.

_No. _

_No tears._

_No crying. _

_Stop it._

Rylie sniffed and wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She could feel Walter's eyes burning into the back of her head.

_Don't look._

_Don't look at him._

Rylie breathed in a shaky breath before going on.

"_I'm not Ryder_." she said and slid off the counter. "I'm not smart, I'm not a genius… I have anxiety, I have a hearing problem, I have an anger problem, I have mild PTSD, and I _feel_. Which fucking sucks because I feel _everything_ and I wish I couldn't."

There was moment of silence, and during that silence, Rylie ran out of the building, tears brimming her eyes once again, and she ran to the only place where she could let her feelings out.

The gym.

* * *

><p>"Subject just left the premises, sir. Do I proceed?" a man hiding in a car across the street watched as Rylie ran out of the building and down the sidewalk.<p>

"Follow her. Watch her, but do not contain. We need to break her before we can collect her." The deep gravely voice whispered in the man's earpiece.

"Copy that."

"Does she have any idea she's being followed?" the gravely voice asked.

"As far as she knows, she thinks I'm after her brother."

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

The man in the car exited the vehicle and tailed Rylie from a distance.

She was too caught up in her emotional turmoil that she didn't notice.


	8. Chapter 8

**OKAY I SWEAR THIS IS THE LAST ONE UNTIL SATURDAY!...I promise...kinda...hopefully..maybe... :)**

**Anyways, I liked tonights episode so much that I had to post another surprise chapter and THERE WILL BE A CROSSOVER WITH NCIS LA NEXT WEEK! AHH!**

**I am a fan of both NCIS LA and Scorpion so I am too excited right nowww!**

**But please Read&Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Sweat and pain. That's what the gym smelled like to Rylie. She liked it, it was soothing to her, and it reminded her of herself. It's what she thinks she'd smell like if she we to describe her emotions to someone.<p>

Rylie's fists pounded against the thick leather punching bag, her knuckles growing raw, for God knows how long she had been punching it and sweat dripped down her temples as she put all of her anger into each punch.

The gym was abandoned, no one usually showed up since it was the farthest corner of town, and the gym looked like it was set in the 40s. That's another reason why she liked this place; it looks like it was stuck in another time, just like she thought she was. She wished she could go someplace that wasn't here.

Ryder's face popped up in her head again.

The asshole…the disrespectful, rude, smartass, hard ass, ass hole. He thinks he's brilliant. He thinks he's a genius….and he is.

That's what Rylie hated the most about him. He's _knows_ he's a genius and won't ever let her forget it. And whenever she pointed that out he'd call her out on it and yell at her.

_'What? What did I do?'_ he'd say. _'It's the truth! That doesn't make me an asshole!'_

Rylie can't argue with someone who is so blinded by his or her own narcissism that can't even tell how big of a dick he is.

_'Stop being so overdramatic, Rylie!' Ryder snapped. _

_ 'I-I'm not." Rylie snapped back at him. 'I-'_

_ 'Rylie?' Mom asked as she walked into the room. 'I need to talk to you.'_

_ Rylie hesitated. When she needed to 'talk' Rylie was usually being blamed for something._

_ 'Ok.' Rylie said. Ryder grumpily sifted through his papers as Mom stood before them both._

_ 'You need to get your grades up.' Mom said. _

_ 'I know.' _

_ 'Do you need help with homework? Have you been studying for you tests?'_

_ 'Yes.' Rylie snapped at her. Tears started to form, blinding her vision._

_ 'You know, Ryder never had this problem, why are you? If you're having a problem with tests and homework you could always go to Ryder. Ryder-'_

_ 'STOP IT!' Rylie shouted. 'STOP COMPARING ME TO __**HIM**__! THAT'S ALL YOU __**EVER DO**__!'_

_ Tears streamed down her face as her mother stared at her with wide eyes. She was speechless. Ryder glared at Rylie, he opened his mouth to argue, but she had already left for school. _

_ And Rylie cried in bathroom there._

Rylie cried out and threw one last punch. Her fist collided into the bag and the thump, the sound of her fist hitting the bag echoed through out gym. Rylie panted, tiredly, and took a seat on a nearby bench. It seemed like it would crack under her weight, but that's the difference between people and this bench, this bench was reliable.

She felt slightly more at peace here.

Suddenly, a familiar marimba tone rang out in the empty room. Rylie stared down at her cell phone, it read 3:05 am, and a text from her father popped up. Rylie narrowed her eyes and took her phone in her hand to get a better look. It read:

RYLIE, RUN!

She didn't need to be told twice.

Swiftly, she tucked her phone in her pocket, lifted the hood of her new hoodie over her head, and made a dive for the wrestling ring. Footsteps shuffled into the building, attempting to be quiet but obviously there. Rylie silently lifted one of the floorboards up and dug her hand into the hole, lifting up a small gym bag.

The footsteps started to sound closer. Rylie dug into the bag and pulled out a gun, her favorite gun, a gun her father gave her as a present after finally being able to hit the center of a target everyday for two weeks in a row. You could say she had a pretty good shot.

Rylie could hear muttering on the other side of the ring. Luckily for her, it was dark outside, and there was only one working light in the building. So, she rolled herself flat on her back and pushed away the skirt on the ring, she adjusted her trajectory to the light bulb.

"Hope you can see in the dark." Rylie muttered and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The room was pitch black, there were at least two men in the room from what Rylie could tell, both were shouting at one another. She rolled out from under the ring and ran to the back door.

The marimba tone rang out again once more. Rylie quickly hid in an alley two blocks over before tucking her gun into her belt and hid it under her hoodie and pulling her phone out. It was from her father again.

_THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU!_

Rylie frowned. They? Who's they?

The Trackers?

The government?

Rylie didn't want to wait to find out, she had to get back to base fast. So she ran.

She kept her hood over her head and ran. She never questioned her father, ever, he was always right, just like how Rylie was.

At least that's what she was.

Or she thought she was.

_Was I wrong before?_

Rylie heard the sound of rubber on gravel four blocks away. Her heart started to race. Now or never. She looked up and walked along the side of a wall, looking for the fire escape. Once the escape was spotted she realized the thing was about four feet taller than she was, she could just barely reach it.

The car was driving closer, she could hear it slowing down every so often, probably searching down each alleyway. She had to hurry.

Rylie moved to the other side of the alley and ran toward the other wall. She scaled the wall in three steps and got hold of one of the bars on the latter. She lifted herself up and scaled the stairs to the top of the building. Rylie ran the rooftop toward the Scorpion warehouse, and just as she thought she was home free she came to an abrupt stop.

There was about a ten-foot gap separating her from the safe zone.

_Ten feet or killers._

_Ten feet or killers?_

_Killers doesn't sound that bad, oh who am I kidding I'll jump it._

Rylie ran back to the other side of the roof and panted. Could she do it? She started to doubt herself all over again. Can she do anything?

_No. _

_Shut up!_

_Shut up! Shut up!_

Rylie let out a battler cry and charged toward the drop. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her and propelled herself off the ledge.

And she flew.

_BANG!_

Rylies vision failed her that moment.

The feeling of flying quickly changed to the feeling of falling.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry not sorry, I broke my promise about not posting another chapter until Saturday. :P**

**I got too excited about this part...and I just felt like torturing you guys ;)**

**Here is a little sample of what is to come Saturday!**

**READ&REVIEW, FAV&FOLLOW, AND ENJOY!**

* * *

><p>"Paige, she needs help." Walter paced back and forth in the kitchen of the building. It had been two hours since Rylie ran off and it put his brain into over drive. He had actually <em>touched <em>her, he saw her _pain_. Those were things Walter rarely did. The weird thing was, Walter felt like he had a connection with Ryder's sister, like she understood how his mind worked. That must be Rylie's relationship with her brother. She was his translator and protector... but she was different. She was like Paige except…smarter…. but normal. Walter couldn't even explain it himself, which made him rather frustrated.

"Well, what happened?" Paige asked. Thirty minutes after Rylie ran off Walter figured if anyone could help, it was Paige, so he called her and she and Ralph arrived about twenty minutes later.

"I-I don't know." Walter said and stopped pacing. He leaned over the kitchen table and rubbed his chin in thought. "I had dug up Rylie's profile that the government had on her, you should have seen it! Her mind works strategically, she's _practically_ a behaviorist, she studies martial arts and plays lacrosse," he sucked in a quick breath and carried on. "The list goes on and on, _she's a lethal weapon_, she could take over a small country if she wanted to, or at least an army base, single handedly. With her likeable personality it wouldn't be hard for her to gain followers, she could have her own army within months and with Ryder, those two could be the tag team to destroy the world…well, they have, with their schematic. And not only that-"

"WHOA!" Paige quickly cut him off before he could go on. Her eyes were wide with surprise and a little bit of horror. "Walter, are you _stalking_ this girl?"

Walter raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "What? No, stalking would imply I am following her, keeping tabs, and knowing her every movement. This is research."

Paige rubbed the bridge of her nose and scrunched her eyebrows together.

"Ok, lets just back up a second. Did you _tell her_ you 'did research' on her?"

"Yes."

"Damn it, Walter."

"What?"

"You probably just freaked her out." Paige explained. "When a person you don't know suddenly know everything about you it tends to creep people out."

Walter blinked in confusion. "No! She doesn't care that I know."

"Well, what did you do then? What did you say to her after?" Paige asked.

"I told her she was special like her brother, Ryder." Walter said. "If anything that should be a compliment."

Paige sat in silence and thought for a moment. She couldn't really see any reason why Rylie would run off after something like that. It didn't really make sense to her.

"Uh…" she let out a huff. "I…I'm not sure why she would run off then, to be honest. Maybe we should call Toby?"

"We don't need to call Toby," Walter insisted. "We just need to find Rylie, she could be in danger."

Paige nodded slowly and watched Walter scramble to find his phone…, which was sitting on the table in front of him. She had never seen Walter like this, he was so out of it that he couldn't see anything right under his nose. This was rather concerning for her.

"Walter," Paige said. "Walter, look at me."

Walter hesitated in his search but reluctantly looked over at Paige. "What?"

Paige narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as she studied his face. His eyes were wide and he looked stressed.

"Walter, are you worried about Rylie?" she asked cautiously.

"No, no, she just could be in danger." Walter said.

"You're looking for you phone when it is right under your nose," Paige pointed down at the phone on the table. Walter stared down at it, closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face. "Walter, why are you so concerned about Rylie? She can take care of herself."

"You didn't see the look in her eyes." Walter murmured. "I've seen that look one to many times, and it always means something bad happened to the person, or they've _seen_ something bad. What could something so bad affect her like that?"

Paige stared at Walter for a moment. He actually felt something toward someone he nearly just met, she must be special, but…for what purpose would Walter need her now? Walter always had a reason for doing something. He never did anything 'just because'… he always had a reason.

"Ok, I'll get my keys and Ralph." Paige said and went to gather her son.

**_THUMP!_**

Walter and Paige both looked up at the ceiling.

"What was that?" Walter murmured in confusion.

"Did something just fall on the roof?" Paige wondered out loud. "It sounded heavy."

Walter ran for the fire escape to get onto the roof, Paige followed in suit. The two of them scrambled up the stairs and once on the roof, they searched for the source of the thump.

It was too dark for either of them to see anything, but near the ledge Walter could make out a silhouette of a large form on the roof. What was it? A bag?

Paige followed Walter's gaze and eyed the form.

Seconds later she gasped in horror at the puddle of red liquid growing before her and Walter sprinting toward it, suddenly recognizing the unmoving form.

At the same time Paige whispered the name of the person in dismay as Walter cried out in terror.

**_"RYLIE!"_**

And Walter's heart stopping shout echoed through out the night sky.


	10. Author's Note

**Wow, ok, hi guys! Haha, I got a few questions about the story that I thought I'd answer for you all. I don't want to give too much of the story away because I want it to be a surprise! Hehe, and I like cliffhangers, so you all will probably hate me if you don't already :).**

**Anyways, first off, and a warning, this story will eventually become a crossover with the Avengers. The Avenger's won't show up in this specific story, I plan on having a sequel and that's when the Avengers come in, so there will be a build up to it. I swear it will be a good crossover, not a really cheese/cliché one, so please don't hate me if you don't like the idea!**

**Secondly, the topic of Walter/OC pairing. Uh..well...I didn't plan on pairing Walter and Rylie...'cause I was planning on Rylie be, like, 17 or 18 since she and Ryder are currently juniors in high school (I think I stated that somewhere, maybe not), and Walter is 29, I believe. So, the age difference is kinda weird, but uh, I mean...well, I don't know. Tell me your guys' thoughts on Walter/Rylie pairing. I guess I'd prefer them as a brother/sister relationship if anything, I wasn't really planning on a pairing, so you guys can tell me what you think and I'll think about it!**

**Uuuhh...I don't think there were anymore questions that I can remember, other than the whole relationship thing. If you guys have anymore questions leave a review or PM me! I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible. Welp. The next chapter will be Saturday!**

**Fair warning, I plan on having more cliffhangers, tears will be shed, feels will be pouring out of your ears, and all the other lovely things about fan fiction. ;)**

**Love your friendly neighborhood author,**

**Babs**


	11. Chapter 10

**Boop. Boop.**

**Hehe, hi guyyys!**

**Guys whaaat?**

**I think you guest it!**

**ANOTHER CHAPTER BEFORE TOMORROW!**

**Yea, go ahead, tell me you love me.**** ;)**

* * *

><p>After hearing the news Ryder didn't know what to think. His twin sister had been shot. Bam. That was it. Paige had woken Ryder up once she called 911. Walter had been tending to Rylie, making sure she wouldn't die, and Ryder stood there, tired and confused, staring down at the bleeding body of his sister.<p>

Well, that's what she gets for running around at night.

She should have known better.

Rylie always knows better.

That's why she never gets hurt.

She's indestructible.

So how could something as simple as a bullet hurt her?

It just didn't make any sense to Ryder. _Did she go out of her way to hunt down the Trackers, to stop them from killing me?_ Ryder thought. _No. She's not that stupid._

Ryder sat silently outside the emergency room. He had been staring at the white wall across from him for an hour, just thinking, processing everything. He had never been stumped before. He couldn't figure it out. Rylie couldn't die. She's Rylie. She's his sister. She's indestructible. Nothing can stop her…she's his protector…if she died who would protect him then.

_I can protect myself_. Ryder reminded himself. _I can protect myself. I don't need Rylie. She's so stupid for doing this to herself. _

Toby and Happy were sitting on the other side of the hallway with Ralph and Sylvester, who debated coming to the hospital but once told Rylie was the one hospitalized he felt like he couldn't get there fast enough. Toby was watching Ryder, he was looking for any form of worry or stress, but he couldn't find any. It was like the boy didn't care. Toby and Happy didn't know Rylie very well, but even they were worried for her. How could Rylie's blood relative, her twin brother for that matter, not at least show worry?

"What's wrong?" Happy asked once she noticed Toby's puzzled expression.

"Ryder," Toby whispered. "His _twin sister_ was just hospitalized because she was shot and he's just sitting there, expressionless and not moving, I get that he probably has a low EQ, but even Walter shows a little bit of emotion in a high stress situation. It's like he doesn't care at all, or at least it's not phasing him, like he's seen this before."

Happy pursed her lips together, looked back at Ryder, then to the door hiding the Cooper girl. The rant Rylie went on the other day, about the Trackers, she had heard the girl mention an event that most likely scarred her, an event that would probably mentally scar someone for life. Maybe even Ryder.

Sylvester was pacing back and forth; rubbing his hands on his pants, sweat dripping down his face. He hated hospitals, though they were clean, they were filled with sick people and diseases. It was a germ hell. But on the other side of the ER door was someone he'd never thought he'd consider a friend since Walter. He was trying to run numbers through his head, Rylie's chances of living, he didn't know where the bullet struck, how much blood she lost, or the impact she took on the roof of the building. He was clueless and he didn't like it.

Paige stood with Walter in a lounge near the room, Walter wasn't allowed in the emergency room and through a fit, so Paige sent him to have a time out in the lounge. He couldn't sit still and Paige wanted to make an attempt at calming him down, but she knew it was pointless.

Everyone's attentions turned to Rylie's room opening, one of the nurses emerged and Walter nearly plowed the woman over, luckily, Toby and Paige managed to hold him back.

"Where is she? Is she ok?" Walter demanded.

The nurse glanced at each of the faces in front of her and sighed. "The doctor would like to talk to one of the patient's relatives."

The hallway fell silent. They all glanced toward Ryder. He was still sitting and staring at the wall. He obviously wasn't mentally fit to listen to anyone at the moment, so Paige turned back to the nurse and smiled softly.

"Uh, neither of her mother won't be here for a while, may I come in? I'm a friend of Rylie's." Paige asked. Walter fidgeted, he wanted to go in, but Paige knew that if Walter went in, he would through a fit if the doctor didn't tell him what he wanted to hear.

The nurse, not wanting to be around the group anymore, allowed Paige to enter the room and closed the door behind her. The group stood there for a while, not saying a word, waiting in anticipation for Paige to come out with the news. Hopefully good news.

It felt like hours ticked by, within the three minutes before Paige emerged from the room, her face filled with relief.

"Good news." Toby sighed with relief.

"Yes." Paige said. "But-"

"But?" Sylvester burst. "But what? But she's in a coma? But she's paralyzed? But-"

"Sylvester." Happy snapped, silencing him. "But what, Paige?"

"No one is allowed to see her until her mother gets here," Paige said. "Except Ryder. Other than that, Rylie is fine, she took a bullet to the right shoulder and her head hit the roof pretty hard, so she has a mild concussion. She should be able to leave in at least two weeks."

Relief flooded the hallway. Paige walked over to Ryder, who was still in a trans.

"Ryder? Do you want to see Rylie?"

Silence.

"Ryder?"

Silence.

Paige frowned and glanced back at Walter. He just shook his head and gestured for her to leave him alone. As Paige turned to Walter, Ryder got up and walked straight into the room without saying a single word to any of the worried faces.

The room was empty, the nurses and doctors left once Rylie was stable. Ryder stood at the end of his sister's bed, watching her. This picture was all too familiar to him.

"You did it again."

Rylie didn't need to open her eyes to know who was there. She acknowledged Ryder's statement with a sigh. He clenched his fists and glared at his sister.

She shouldn't be there.

She can't be here again.

She promised.

She promised she wouldn't do this again.

"Get up."

Rylie snorted and opened her eyes, glaring back at Ryder.

"I've been shot, Ryder, I'm not allowed to get up."

"Since when has that stopped you?"

Rylie frowned, muttered to herself and sat up, even though the wounds still hurt and her head was throbbing. Her copper eyes stared straight into Ryder's blue ones, her eyes held a blank stare.

The twins stared in silence for a while. Rylie knew this was Ryder's way of processing near death experiences or injuries. He never went through any of that because Rylie was there. She went through it for him.

"They still haven't figured it out, have they?" Rylie finally spoke up.

"Which part?" Ryder lightly joked.

"The Tracker part, dumbass." Rylie sarcastically retorted.

"No."

"Good. Anything tracing us to them?"

"Like it never happened."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Rylie slowly nodded. Ryder continued to stare at his sister. The last time he had seen her in the hospital was when she had last gotten shot, which their father had magically erased from hospital records years ago. Rylie was shot three times, cuts all over her torso, bruises, black eye, and a missing tooth. That was mild compared to what she had received before while they were with the Trackers. Their father and his team had been investigating the Trackers during their time with them. When he found Ryder and Rylie he only assumed the Trackers had them hostage and demanding federal secrets.

Unbeknownst to their father, Ryder had pissed off the wrong giant asshole in the Tracker base and Rylie fought the man before he could even lay a hand on him…and the man lost that hand.

Ryder cared about his sister. Obviously. They were related so they had to care about each other, though; Ryder did find her insistent defensive nature over him irritating. He believed that if someone was wrong and he was right he had to tell them that, and if they get angry with him that's not his problem. It's their fault they're not like him. They should focus more.

Rylie didn't get it either. He let it slide most of the time but it did irritate him plenty. She was brawn, not brain. Though, he did acknowledge that she was smarter than others, more aware of her surroundings than most people and good a deduction, which is useful.

He still couldn't figure out how she could have let herself get shot.

"Why?"

Rylie tilted her head slightly. "What?"

"Why did you let yourself get shot."

"I didn't _let _myself get shot, Ryder. I don't just let people shoot me."

"You have the quickest human reflexes on record." Ryder snapped. "You can dodge a bullet milliseconds before it can hit you, I know, I've seen you do it. So, answer my question when I ask you _why did you let yourself get shot_?"

Rylie remained silent. She didn't know what to say. She was foolish. She let her emotions get the best of her.

"I-I was in mid air, Ryder, I can't just fly out of the way-"

"There were probably one hundred different ways you thought of to avoid it, but you didn't use any of them." Ryder accused.

Rylie snarled. "I wasn't emotionally stable at the time, ok? You happy now mister I-don't-give-a-shit? I couldn't think straight, I was being rash, and it happened. Things _happen_ sometimes. I'm not like_ you_. I have emotions because I'm _normal._"

Rylie got up from her bed, carefully removed the cords and IV from her arms and fingers. Ryder watched her do this.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving. Where's my gun?"

"I hid it under your pillow back at the warehouse and you can't leave. You've been shot."

Rylie slipped her jacket over her wounded shoulder delicately, only wincing once, and looked at Ryder, a dark mirth flooded her gaze.

"Since when has that stopped me?"

* * *

><p>"You coming with me?" Rylie asked Ryder once she was half way out the hospital window and on the outside ledge.<p>

"Eh, I'll pass on the death defying stunts, Spiderman."

Rylie smirked; these were the times she cherished most with her brother. The times when they actually got along.

"Mom will be here soon, what do you want me to tell her?" Ryder asked.

"Well, everyone will probably find out I'm gone in a few minutes, just call her once I get to the ground and tell her it was nothing big. A mugging and the bullet only grazed me, I can erase the record later." Rylie said. Ryder nodded and took a seat near the window, waiting for his sister to make her way to the ground.

Rylie walked her way to the end of the ledge, jumped from one windowsill to another, and jumped to the roof of the entrance of the hospital, tucked and rolled, growling at her injured shoulder, then jumped onto a branch of a nearby tree. She then shimmied down the tree and carried on her merry way.

Until a tiny little roadblock stopped her.

A little boy.

He was looking up at Rylie expectantly as well as studying her.

Rylie scanned the boy's face. He seemed oddly familiar.

And that's when it hit her.

His eyes. His nose. His hair. The way he was staring at her.

It was Paige's son, Ralph.

What was he doing out- Rylie froze and glanced over her shoulder to find Paige, not that far away, talking with Agent Gallo.

"Shit." Rylie muttered before turning back to Ralph. She knelt before him with a kind smile. "Hey, bud. I was never here, ok?"

Ralph blinked.

"Hm…" Rylie grumbled before realizing Ralph was a genius as well from what Sylvester told her. An idea struck her and quickly dug into bag, pulling out a Rubix Cube. Rylie used to keep dozens of randomly sized and shaped Rubix Cubes incase she needed to distract or calm Ryder down. This situation would work too.

"Here, bud." Rylie offered one of the cubes to him. If Rylie didn't know any better, she would swear this was Ryder when he was younger. "I was never here, right?"

Ralph stared at the object and took it from her.

He just nodded.

"Thanks." Rylie grinned and sprinted down the sidewalk.

* * *

><p>Ryder watched Rylie disappear into the crowded streets. She was going to disappear for a while, he knew it, she had done it before, but she never really went far, she stayed close enough to keep a close eye on him.<p>

She always disappears when she gets too close to people, except the ones she uses for cover, like their laser tag team. She was most likely going to Opie's house after her pit stop at the warehouse.

It was a normal situation for them.

Ryder pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted his mother what Rylie wanted him to then quickly turned back to the door as it opened. He hadn't expected the doctor to return so soon…

He soon realized it wasn't the doctor.

"Rylie, Ryder, you guys want anything to eat? I was about-"

Ryder froze, he looked like a deer in the headlights as he stared at Walter.

Walter looked at Ryder then down at the bed.

"Where's Rylie?"

"Bathroom."

Walter looked back at Ryder and noticed his stance. He was blocking the window. And it was open.

Rylie made a run for it.


	12. Chapter 11

**Hello all! Sorry for the delay! I slept in and went on an adventure this afternoon.**

**So, this chapter is short. :P Yea. Don't worry though! I will most likely have another short one either tonight our tomorrow! Maybe even several more surprise chapters on Mondayyy because I love both Scorpion and NCIS LA. :) **

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><p>Ryder watched Rylie disappear into the crowded streets. She was going to disappear for a while, he knew it, she had done it before, but she never really went far, she stayed close enough to keep a close eye on him.<p>

She always disappears when she gets too close to people, except the ones she uses for cover, like their laser tag team. She was most likely going to Opie's house after her pit stop at the warehouse.

It was a normal situation for them.

Ryder pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted his mother what Rylie wanted him to then quickly turned back to the door as it opened. He hadn't expected the doctor to return so soon…

He soon realized it wasn't the doctor.

"Rylie, Ryder, you guys want anything to eat? I was about-"

Ryder froze, he looked like a deer in the headlights as he stared at Walter.

Walter looked at Ryder then down at the bed.

"Where's Rylie?"

"Bathroom."

Walter looked back at Ryder and noticed his stance. He was blocking the window. And it was open.

Rylie made a run for it.

* * *

><p>Everything just seemed too quiet. The streets were empty; there were no sounds of cars driving down the street or birds chirping. Obviously, not a good sign, but that didn't stop Rylie from retrieving her gun. It was her baby…even though she wasn't exactly old enough yet to actually have a gun. It was a present from her father and it reminded her she was actually good at something…that someone actually cared for her.<p>

Rylie walked through the front door of the building; the agents Agent Gallo assigned to watch the building were gone. Also suspicious. Rylie made a mental note to be extra careful, but still, she wanted her gun. Nothing was going to stop her from getting it.

"Rylie Cooper."

Rylie squeaked and jumped a foot in the air. She whirled around to find Agent Gallo standing near Walter's desk, with her gun in his hand.

"Wha-? What the hell? You were at the hospital, how did you find me?"

Agent Gallo held up the Rubix Cube Rylie had given Ralph. She made another mental note.

Never trust kids.

Rylie froze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Something was up. Something bad.

"Rylie-"

Windows were crashed in; glass shattering everywhere and doors kicked down. Agent Gallo pushed Rylie behind him, though she mentally rolled her eyes. He held her gun up, but they were both obviously out numbered. They didn't stand a chance.

So, Rylie placed her hands above her head in surrender and gestured for Agent Gallo to do so as well. He sighed and placed his gun and Rylie's gun on the ground, and raised his hands above his head.

"This is why I should have a gun." Rylie muttered.

"Now is not the time to discuss that." Agent Gallo whispered harshly. Rylie grumbled to herself as she stared at the men holding large guns, pointed in their direction. She recognized some of the faces all too well.

And in that moment she wished she never left the hospital.

"Hello, Ryls. You miss us?" One of the men stepped forward, preparing to handcuff the two. She recognized the man as their old team leader, Raphael.

"You know these people?" Agent Gallo narrowed his eyes.

Rylie refused to make eye contact with either one of them. She stared at the ground as her disturbing memories flashed through her mind. They were the memories she worked so hard to forget. The ones they gave her night terrors for two years. And the man handcuffing her brought them all back with just one sentence.

"Of course she does." Raphael's voice was smooth and deep. He spoke calmly…confidently. "She and her brother used to work for us. You never told him, Ryls?" he taunted her. "You never told him you worked for us Trackers?"

Rylie continued to stare silently at the ground.

"Using the silent treatment again?" The man, once handcuffed the two, yanked Rylie to her feet and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, I'm sure you missed spending time in our Hell Cell, right?"

Rylie stared at Raphael. She was frozen in terror at that moment.

The Hell Cell.

No.

Not again.

No!

"No." Rylie murmured. "No. Raph, please."

Raphael released Rylie and strode away. "Pack 'em up in the vans, boys."

Rylie attempted to chase after him, rage slowly replacing her fear. "NO! I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD! RAPH!"

Rylie continued her screaming, ignoring Agent Gallo's attempts to calm her down as the two were being dragged away. Rylie kicked and screamed. Fear and rage fueling her new found energy. She head butted one of the men holding her, making him fall over. She jumped over her tied up wrists like jump rope and charged at three more men, taking them out easily.

Then Raph appeared again, when Rylie wasn't looking, and jabbed the butt of his gun into her head, knocking her out.

"What did I tell you idiots? This one is jumpy." Raph said and smiled down at Agent Gallo. "Don't you get any ideas, old man. Rylie's the one we want, we don't need you, so if you try anything…" Raph held a finger gun to his head and made a 'pop' sound, then walked away.

Agent Gallo scowled. He really wished he'd given Rylie her gun.

* * *

><p><strong>Ahhh. And the suspense continues! <strong>

**Hehe.**

**I know you guys love me. ;)**


	13. Chapter 12

**HAPPY SCORPION MONDAY!**

**In celebration I got you guys a present ;)**

**A chapter!**

**I know it's not much but it will do for now. I will most likely be posting randomly later?...I say as a question.**

**Cuuzz, it's my friend's birthday today and we were going to celebrate tonight . ack, and I might miss Scorpion.**

**AGHH. And I don't wanna miss Scorpion, but friends are good for me, but I like Scorpion and this storyyy. So, as an apology for maybe posting maybe not and/or possibly not watching Scorpion tonight I will be posting chapters at random the rest of the week.**

**Surprise chapter week! Yea! :D**

**So you'll never know when it will happen :)**

**Anyways, please Read&Review, Fav&Follow, and enjoy!**

**Warning: this chapter is kinda violent. There are mentions of torture but nothing super graphic.**

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><p>Pain.<p>

So much pain.

There was so much pain that Rylie couldn't even tell if she were alive or not anymore. Was her skin still on her bones? Which of her bones weren't broken? Did she have any more blood in her body to spare?

She couldn't take it anymore. She could barely breathe; her heart was racing as the memories returned to her. She escaped this place years ago and now that she's back her anxiety has spiked and she couldn't stop her flash backs from coming.

At least that's what she hoped it was.

History was repeating itself.

The Hell Cell was a place the Trackers made just for her…to 'toughen her up' they claimed.

It was a torture chamber.

And they broke Rylie.

And made her into something else. A darker being.

And for a long time Rylie didn't know what she was…or who she was. After one night in the Hell Cell, after hundreds of other nights being tortured, that one night, something inside her snapped and she blacked out.

She didn't wake up until the night their father's team broke into the headquarters ten months later. It wasn't until weeks later that she asked Ryder what happened in the past ten months.

_Rylie stood at Ryder's doorway, stiff as a board and confused. She stared at her brother, her gaze pleading and on the verge of a break down. She had no recollection of the past ten months and she needed to know…she needed to know what the Trackers made her do._

_ Ryder sat at his desk and turned in his chair to face Rylie. Rylie knew Ryder had a problem with expressing emotions besides frustration or annoyance, but she could clearly see fear in his eyes, which only put Rylie in an even bigger panic. _

_ "What?" Rylie gasped. "What did I do?"_

_ Ryder pulled a file out from the secret compartment under his desk; he gripped it tight in his hands but reluctantly handed it over. Rylie scanned the pages eagerly, only seconds later did she regret doing so._

_ It was a kill list._

_ A list of people Rylie killed in the past ten months._

_ …and there were a lot of names._

_ Rylie thought she was going to throw up and her body went numb. She handed the file back to Ryder and he put it back._

_ "I erased any trace of this file on the internet." Ryder murmured. "I kept this copy in case you ever…came back. If you ever wanted to know what happened."_

_ "H-How did this happen?" Rylie asked. "What happened to me?"_

_ Ryder stared at his sister sorrowfully. "The torture they put you through, it brainwashed you…and I never saw you after we created the algorithm, Raph put you on missions with the kill squads…some even out of the country."_

_ Rylie caught her breath. Out of the country? She felt like she was going to pass out. Ryder turned around to continue his work. Rylie stood there speechless until Ryder suddenly remembered something and looked over his shoulder at his sister._

_ "I erased all of the blood on your ledger." Ryder added. "I erased both of us from the Tracker system. It's like we were never there."_

_ Rylie used the doorway to hold herself up. _

_ "Oh, and I figured it would be best to just…forget any of this ever happened, ok? Just forget any of this ever happened."_

_ He turned back around and continued his writing. Leaving his emotionally unstable sister to figure everything out. Rylie managed to shuffle back her room, only to fall to her knees on the floor and burst into tears. Her chest ached, there weren't enough tears for her to shed for all of the lives she took. She never wanted to hurt anyone. But what could she do? She couldn't remember ever doing those things. She couldn't remember anything over those past ten months. _

_ So, she did what her brother said._

_ She attempted to forget it all._

* * *

><p>"Guys, we have a problem." Happy said once she got off the phone.<p>

"We've had a problem for awhile." Toby waved his hands around the warehouse. "Have you seen the place? It's trashed."

"Glass." Sylvester scrambled for a dustpan and broom. "There's glass everywhere. This is dangerous. Who would do this?"

"Agent Gallo and Rylie are missing, too." Paige added as she attempted to keep Ralph from playing with the glass.

"What's the problem, Happy?" Walter asked.

"The Homeland called." Happy tucked her phone in her pocket. "The internet is out in all the west coast states, Arizona to Washington. They're calling us in to meet with a team of theirs in a government building in Santa Barbara. Now."

"What did Agent Gallo say about that?" Walter asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"That's the other problem." Happy pursed her lips. "Agent Gallo dropped off the map. They have no idea where he is."

"Rylie was with him." Paige looked up at Walter. "Do you think something happened to them?"

"Yes." Ryder said bluntly. "Something obviously happened to them since they're not _here_."

Paige narrowed her eyes at Ryder. Ryder shrugged.

Walter walked over to his computer, to test the Internet power outage. It was true. Everything Walter tried failed then suddenly a strange encryption appeared on his screen.

"What the hell?" he said in bewilderment. This was a first.

Ryder scampered over to Walter and stared at the computer screen.

"That's mine."

"What?" Walter narrowed his eyes and stared at Ryder.

Ryder gestured to the encryption on the screen. "That's my algorithm…well, more like an inch of it, but that's mine. See?" he pointed out a four number pattern that would appear in the top left corner every five seconds. "That's me and Rylie's signature. It's our birthday."

Walter stared at the screen before turning around on Ryder. "You're telling me someone got a hold of your and Rylie's algorithm?"

Ryder scoffed. "No, obviously they didn't or they would have used the whole thing. Why would they use it on only the Internet in four states? The algorithm is supposed to cause a world wide permanent power black out. Not an Internet malfunction. So these people want us to believe this is only the beginning, that there would be more to come, but, as Rylie would say, they are bluffing."

"Can you counter act this?" Walter asked as he pointed to the computer screen.

"Of course."

"Then go for it." Walter said.

"I'll need to go to the government building. They'll have more access for me to counter act my algorithm…. I can't." Ryder said.

"What?" Toby burst. "Why not?"

"I only have half of the solution." Ryder attempted to explain. "If we want to permanently stop the black out, I need Rylie. She knows the other half of the solution."

"What?" Happy raised an eyebrow. "You mean you can't fix it?"

"No, I can fix the Internet problem, but if these people have a small portion of it, they could be close to getting more of it. If we want to stop that from happening _I need Rylie_." Ryder explained, but the last part seemed like a separate plead itself. Paige eyed Ryder. He seemed a little off… almost a little panicky. Was he worried about his sister?

"Well, let's head to the location." Walter nodded to the team. "We can fix the Internet problem then find Rylie and Agent Gallo."

"Hey, Walter." Happy said as her gaze followed a shadow outside the building. "I don't think we're alone here…"

Everyone turned his or her gazes to where Happy was looking. Happy grabbed the heaviest thing next to her, it happened to be a hammer. She weighed it in her hand, calculated her trajectory, and threw it. Successfully hitting her target.

A man fell through the window, which was already broken, and Ryder caught a glimpse of the tattoo insignia on the man's neck. It was a Tracker.

Ryder charged for the bloody man. He held injuries that were only a few hours old, most likely received from Rylie, he was bleeding out, probably left for dead.

Ryder ignored all the calls of protest from the people behind him. He viciously grabbed the man by his shirt and slammed him against the wall as he growled.

_"Where's my sister."_


	14. Author's Note Part 2

**Hey guys! I am so so sorry for not posting like I said I would this past week.**

**I just suddenly became busy which cut into my writing time :(**

**It sucks because I want to write for this but I also have school work to do, because college is college :P**

**Anyways, I most likely will not be posting as often as I used to, but surprise chapters will appear frequently or infrequently, either short or long, but they will appear.**

**I also want to try my hand at NaNoWrimo.**

**So, wish me luck, don't abandon me because I am NOT abandoning this story!**

**From your friendly neighborhood author - Babs**


	15. Chapter 13

**HELLO! Its been awhile, but I'm here! This is a really short little excerpt for a chapter, but it's all I can offer so far :/. **

**I kinda hit a writers block, but I'll update what I can.**

**Please Read&Review, Follow&Fav, and enjoy! ;)**

* * *

><p>"Ryder isn't the one we should be worried about, isn't he."<p>

Rylie glanced up from the corner of the room she was chained to the wall. She was in a straight jacket so there wasn't much more she could do, and her legs were aching so she wouldn't be able to stand very long anyways, but she was too tired to talk and she knew what Agent Gallo was saying wasn't a question.

"You're the one we should be worried about." Agent Gallo murmured. Just moments ago Rylie was sent to the Hell Cell and she came back sustaining few injuries, mainly bruises and a few cuts, and she hadn't said a word. It's not like there was anything she could say. But Agent Gallo did hear the commotion outside their room from when she was in the Cell and it frightened him to be in the same room as Rylie. He heard broken bones and screams of terror, and they weren't hers.

Rylie sat there, staring at the ugly brick wall next to her. She wanted to forget he was there. He shouldn't even be there.

"No," Rylie murmured. "I'm the one you should fear…"


	16. Chapter 14

**Ah hA! I did it! I gots another chapter! It's also rather short, but I thought I'd post something for Scorpion Monday. ;)**

**Sooo, as always, Read&Review, Fav&Follow, and enjoy!**

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><p>"You know, I've looked into your family plenty of times."<p>

"Out of curiosity or for an investigation?"

"Let's just say out of curiosity…"

"Let's just say I won't know what you're talking about, then."

Agent Gallo was settled on the other side of the room, tied to a chair. It had been two hours since Rylie's last trip to Hell Cell and her injuries were becoming more visible. Mainly bruises growing larger and darker in color and a cut on her lower lip. Gallo took notice of her nose, its color went dark and it was slightly crooked, the torturers must have broken it and put it back. She didn't show any pain.

"Your father is a government agent, your mother runs a string of gyms in the biggest cities in California, and you and your brother have managed to break every single law and you're not on the top of the America's Most Wanted list."

"That's only an assumption. You don't know if my brother and I have actually broken any laws." Rylie retorted weakly.

"I've seen what you can do," Agent Gallo said. "And we're being held captive in a Tracker headquarters. You must have broken at least half of the laws."

"I see your point."

Agent Gallo couldn't help but roll his eyes as he continued. "I've discovered a few…anomalies in your family's file."

Rylie's ears perked up slightly. Had she and Ryder forgotten to erase something?

"You're a descendant of Al Capone."

Oh that.

Agent Gallo frowned as he heard the sound of a snort come from Rylie's direction…then it changed into a laugh. She was laughing. At a time like this?

"What the hell?" Rylie laughed and looked at Gallo with her injured face. "Seriously? Out of all the things you could have asked me, you ask about my lineage? Are you fucking with me right now?"

"Hey, watch the language."

Rylie just continued laughing.

"Are you done yet?" Agent Gallo snapped. "I wasn't done asking my question."

"Fine, shoot."

"You're a descendant of Al Capone, and his net worth is 1.3 million dollars, there's still an Italian mafia ring that worships him in California."

Rylie's smile started to fade. Where was he going with this?

"Records I found revealed some intriguing reports and pictures. " Agent Gallo said. "Of you, working in that Italian mafia, as a co-boss, as well as few cases of you working with German and Irish mobs."

Rylie narrowed her eyes and attempted to sit up in her corner of the room. What the hell was he talking about? Mafia? Rylie was never involved in the mafia…well, she was a friend with few mafia kids, but she never involved herself in any of the action.

Why couldn't she remember any of this?

Rylie froze, her eyes went wide as it slowly dawned on her.

"And during that time there were multiple deaths involving German, Irish, and Italian families involved in those rings." Agent Gallo continued.

Those were the months she was missing.

Those were the months Ryder erased.

And all at once those memories flooded back to her.

The guns.

The blood.

The screams.

Just like in the night terrors she had during her recovery.

Rylie looked like she had just seen the Grim Reaper herself. Her shoulders shook as she slowly tried to remember how to use her voice.

"I…I-I was a m-mob boss?"

Agent Gallo pursed his lips together and slowly nodded.

When she saw his nod, she completely lost it…

And screamed in fear of herself.


	17. Chapter 15

**Haha! I whipped out another shortie! Hope you guys like it! :)**

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><p>7th hour in the chamber and after third trip to Hell Cell…<p>

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><p>Rylie's brain racked the new information she received from Agent Gallo for the next seven hours. She had so many questions to ask, but did she really want to know the answers? Her brain was attacking the thought of her being a mob boss so hard that she soon developed a migraine making her decide to stop the pondering for awhile...which she only told herself, but never did.<p>

Rylie positioned herself in the corner of the room, she leaned against the wall in a way that didn't pain her as much, and elevated her sprained shoulder. The other shoulder was dislocated when she returned to the chamber and Agent Gallo was rather nauseous at the sight of it so Rylie quickly relocated it. It wasn't that hard; she had dislocated body parts before. Moments after that, Agent Gallo was taken out of the room for questioning. Rylie wasn't worried about him, though he was old, he could handle himself.

But Agent Gallo was nice. Rylie had grown found of him a little bit…a very little bit. She rather liked their 'underestimating-government-agent-and-secretly-a-killer-ninja-super-spy' relationship. It was amusing, especially the face he made when he saw her ugly dislocated shoulder. It was a mix of horror, nausea, and anger.

She remembered the first time she dislocated a bone. It was her nose. When she was eight she played softball before moving onto lacrosse, and during a softball game the ball hit her nose, causing it to dislocate. Her father had run out onto the field and relocated it himself. It hurt like hell.

Rylie smiled softly at the memory. Her father had praised her for her bravery and toughness as he wiped off the blood from her nose. She also remembered that same night when Ryder made fun of her for the broken nose. Ten seconds later he got his very own.

_Rylie walked into the kitchen where her father was washing the dishes from dinner. She brushed off her fist casually and watched as Ryder stumbled into the room, his nose dripping with blood. Their father's ears perked at the sound of Ryder's irregular footsteps and quickly took in his appearance. _

_"Why is he bleeding?" Rylie's father asked._

_ "Because he's an idiot." Rylie said simply as she took a seat on a stool by the counter. _

_ "I didn't know that idiocy cause people to just start spontaneously bleeding from the nose." Her father chuckled as he grabbed Kleenex to dab at his son's nose. _

_ "I think it's a new phenomenon." Rylie replied._

Rylie sighed happily and relaxed, only to quickly regret it as pain seared her shoulder. The little moment of bliss made her forget her pain…which got her thinking again.

"_I feel nothing or I feel everything." _She thought. _"I don't know which is worse."_

Suddenly, the door to the chamber slammed open. Rylie adjusted her head so she could see out of her right eye; her left eye was swollen shut. It was Raph. The devious bastard.

"Where's Agent Gallo?" Rylie asked weakly.

"You don't need to worry about him anymore." Raph smiled crookedly. "We took care of him."

Rylie's face went blank, but fury was flaming in her eyes. She managed to stagger to her feet, wobbling as she limped toward Raph. "Where. Is. He."

Raph only grinned at her weak form. "Oh, Ryls, you've lost your touch. Don't worry we'll fix that."

As he turned to leave Rylie roared and threw her wrapped up body toward Raph, but only making it a few feet. Raph only laughed and left the room.

Panic washed over Rylie's face, ignoring her horrible pain, and screamed. _"WHERE IS HE!" _


	18. Chapter 16

**HAPPY SCORPION MONDAY! I finally got another chapter out!**

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><p>Ryder was hysterical.<p>

Well, not really, but he was acting a bit out of the ordinary. A bit flimsy and distracted. No one said anything though; they were all too focused on the problem at hand. Restoring Internet access to four states. The team huddled themselves around their computers in their designated room in the government building.

The team was on the move to fix the Internet situation; they had to hack into one of the satellites and input codes and other such things. Paige just stood off to the side and watched the Cooper boy, she wanted to comfort him but she didn't know how to go about it. She knew how to talk to Walter, would the same work for Ryder?

"We're almost done here." Walter informed the agent as he entered the room. "It's just be another hour or so."

The agent nodded and left the geniuses be. Paige gestured for Walter and he walked over to her.

"Ryder seems flustered." Paige told him. Walter glanced at Ryder; he was glaring at the computer screen, hunched over, and looked as if he were about to explode.

"And?"

Paige narrowed her eyes at Walter. "And what? Someone needs to talk to him but he's in a fragile state right now, and he idolizes you. You should talk to him."

"In case you didn't remember, I don't do 'talking' well." Walter muttered. But deep down he knew how Ryder felt, feeling helpless to save someone you love. Ryder cared his sister like Walter cared for his. That's why Walter had been so protective over Rylie, because she reminded him of his own sister. He felt like he'd be able to be there for Rylie to fill his own void of helplessness.

And right now he was probably the only person in the room that felt the exact same way as Ryder.

Paige gave Walter a scolding looking. Walter sighed in defeat and made his way over to Ryder.

"Ryder." Walter greeted. Ryder didn't look at him. "Ryder, look at me."

Ryder didn't turn his gaze and his hands kept typing away on the computer. Walter crouched down, looking from Ryder's hands to his face. Ryder definitely was distressed. It wasn't expressed through emotion, but the small gestures Ryder made.

"Ryder…look. At. Me." Walter repeated.

Silence.

Toby and Paige, the only other two in the room, fell silent as they watched the interaction. Sylvester and Happy were back at the garage, but they were most likely to hear about it from Toby later.

"RYDER!" Walter suddenly shouted and grabbed the keyboard away from the boy.

Ryder froze, still staring at the computer screen.

"You made me mess up the code. I have to start over." Ryder murmured.

"Ryder," Walter threw the keyboard to the floor and crouched next to the teenaged genius. "Look at me."

Ryder stared at Walter in his peripheral vision… he ever so slowly began to turn his head toward Walter, revealing the boy's teary red eyes. Walter frowned.

"I-I'm fine." Ryder insisted quietly. Walter shook his head slightly and continued to keep eye contact him.

"No you're not." Walter whispered back.

A tear fell down Ryder's cheek, he gazed at the drop quizzically, like it was an abnormal insect he's never seen before.

"Ryder, we're going to find your sister." Walter reassured him. "Sylvester and Happy are back at the garage hacking into every security camera in a hundred mile radius scanning for Agent Gallo and Rylie. We _will find them._"

"They said they'd kill us if they ever found us." Ryder murmured. "I lost a friend once. I don't want to lose my best friend too."

Walter opened his mouth to reply, but was quickly cut off by Toby.

"Walt! Happy and Sylvester got a hit on the face scans." Toby said and then listened intently to his phone. Ryder and Walter stood, hopeful to who the person might be.

Toby's face went pale.

No. Not a good reaction.

Toby hung up his phone and stared directly at Walter.

"It's Agent Gallo…and he's not doing so well."


End file.
